


Death dodges the brave.

by churchofyourcurves



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Black Widow!Carmilla, Captain America AU, F/F, Super Soldier!Laura, marvel AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 18:51:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 98,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4403219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/churchofyourcurves/pseuds/churchofyourcurves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Very loose Captain America AU.</p><p>Laura is left a super soldier serum by her dad, which she <i>completely</i> accidentally uses on herself. She is then thrust into a world of annoyed soldiers, snarky secret agents, over-eager scientists, and covert ops.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Miss Hollis?”

Laura looked up from her lap, and quickly swiped the errant tears from her face. The estate lawyer gave her a sympathetic smile and stepped aside from the doorway, welcoming her into his office.

The office was all mahogany and green leather, and smelled like exactly what Laura thought a lawyer’s office would smell like. The walls were lined with bookcases, full of identical maroon books with gold lettering along the spine. His desk was massive, and had the latest Apple computer on it – a strange contrast against the traditional feel of the rest of the room. Each step on the thick carpet was cushioned, and Laura stared at the deep red colour, eyes following the gold lining that crisscrossed, willing her tears back in.

She shouldn’t think of why she was here, she shouldn’t think of why she was here, she shouldn’t-

The lawyer took a seat on his huge, plush leather office chair and gestured for her to take a seat in one of the two chairs in front of him. She did so and tucked her legs behind one of the chair legs, settling her hands into her lap and pressing her fingernails against her palm to try and keep her grounded. In the moment. Not thinking about the Reason.

“First of all, I’m sorry for your loss.”

Laura swallowed thickly and nodded.

He seemed to catch on to her discomfort and cleared his throat. “As the only child, all of your father’s money and assets will fall to you, naturally. My secretary collected your information, so we’ll organize that all for you, I just need your signature on some documents.” He handed over a stack of paper, riddled with small post-it note markers, and he flicked to all the relevant pages with a casual ease that spoke of how well he knew the document.

Once they were finished, he pulled it back over to his side of the desk, checking over it again, before nodding and putting it aside. He folded his hands over each other on his desk.

“Uh, but there is something else…”

Laura frowned; she’d thought this was just going to be an easy, quick thing. Well, not _easy_ , but…

The lawyer opened up his drawer and pulled out a metal lock box. Instead of a keyhole, there was a small matte plastic panel on the top.

“Your father left you this. You open it with your right thumbprint, on the, uh, the panel.”

He handed her the box. It wasn’t very impressive looking, about the size of a small parcel, and it felt odd to hold it in her hands. Her father had put whatever he had put into this box knowing that he was dying.

(An unfortunate side effect of being one of the most prominent scientists in the past few decades – the amount of things he’d been exposed to had been what killed him in the form of a vicious cancer.)

The lawyer hesitated and then stood up. “I’ll give you a few minutes.”

He left and when the door clicked shut behind him Laura felt like the whole room was suddenly submerged in water. A silent, oppressive water that made her feel like she was drowning as she sat there, staring at the box in her lap.

She lifted her right hand to the box, tracing the top of the steel, trying to sense her dad’s presence on it. She shook her head, she was being ridiculous right now – it was just a box. She pressed the pad of her thumb to the panel and it came to life, a green laser line appearing at the top of the panel, scanning down to the bottom, and then back up again.

The box hissed and clicked open.

Laura lifted the lid and stared at the contents.

The box had a black sponge liner and sitting on top was a white card, about the size of a business card.

_I love you  
Be safe_

Laura frowned, turning the card over, as if there’d be more on the other side, but that was it.

Well. That was anticlimactic.

She tucked it into her back pocket and looked back down at the box. Slotted into the sponge was a metal tube, not much larger than a tube of lipstick. She pried it out of the sponge and studied the smooth grey metal, turning it over in her hands and noticing the small red button on the tip. She glanced behind her – the door was still closed. She pressed the button.

A piercing noise suddenly burst through her mind, from between her eyes all the way to the back of her skull. She fell forward, clutching her scalp as if that would keep her brain from exploding, and slammed her head on the corner of the desk causing a fresh, sharp pain to tear through her head as everything faded to black.

The world was shaking. She was being carried.

“…who does that? Honestly.”

Dark hair was flying all over her face and she tried to blow it out of her face, but her breath was no match for the wind working against her. Why was there-?

A fresh bout of pain rippled through her body, searing its way through her muscles. She cried out and seized, flinching away from the pain, and managing to pull herself free from the hands holding her legs and arms in place.

The person carrying her swore. They fell back as they tried to compensate for Laura’s convulsions and suddenly Laura’s back was against a wall. She would have complained, except the coolness of it helped alleviate some of the pain.

“Goddamnit,” the person muttered. Her voice was husky, and it might have been sexy if it wasn’t so thick with annoyance.

Laura wanted to argue back, say it wasn’t her fault that she was in _immense_ amounts of pain and it made her flinch, but her teeth were gritted to keep herself from crying out.

She was being lowered down to the ground, and that was when she first saw her. The person who was carrying her. She was beautiful, stunning in a way that didn’t seem possible, with gorgeous dark curls framing her face, intelligent eyes, and an incredibly pissed off expression. She pulled something out of a pocket in her – whoa, skin-tight jumpsuit – and rolled up Laura’s sleeve.

She was muttering something under her breath and Laura caught the tail end of it, “…pain in the ass.”

Again, Laura felt her fury rise up that this woman dared to get angry at her for-

Laura woke up to the sound of a machine steadily beeping.

Ugh. Her head was aching, and she felt like she’d run an entire marathon. Her muscles were completely spent, they were past the point of aching; they just felt useless now.

She looked around – which was way more effort than it sounded like because, ow, even her neck muscles were worn down – and frowned. Where was she? It looked like a hospital room crossed with a lab; there was a counter against the wall with a series of monitors on it. She had to crane her neck to see what was on the screens; it looked like an outline of a body along with a whole bunch of scrolling writing next to it. The counter continued along the back wall and on it was beakers, test tubes, a centrifuge, and a fancy looking microscope.

The blinds were drawn, but somehow she could sense that it was night-time. Which meant she’d been out for a while.

Slowly, things started coming back to her.

The lawyer. The tube. The asshole who was carrying her.

Her fringe fell in front of her eyes and she lifted her hand to-

Her hands.

They were cuffed to the hospital bed.

She rattled the handcuffs, testing their strength.

_Where was she?_

The beeping sound of the machines started to feel ominous, getting louder and filling her head with panic. Her muscles didn’t feel so useless anymore, now they surged with adrenaline and she jerked her wrists away from the sides of the bed, causing the side arms to crack and come clean away from the bed, flying across, slamming into each other over the top of her and falling onto her chest.

Surprisingly, they didn’t hurt, despite their cumbersome size. How she’d managed to rip them off the bed she had no idea (also, what the hell were these handcuffs _made of_?), but she didn’t have the time for that now. She swung herself up into a sitting position, taking a hold of the handles on each plastic slab so that they weren’t just dangling from her wrist.

She was wearing a hospital scrubs and, thanking God that she wasn’t wearing a gown, she moved towards the door and opened it. (Which was more difficult than it sounded, thanks to the bed pieces that were now attached to her.) She got the door open and peered through it, searching the hallway outside for any people.

When she didn’t spot any she eased the door open as quietly as she could, and slipped through. With another quick look around she closed the door behind her and started to run barefoot down the hallway.

She’d never been that strong of a runner, and she didn’t know if it was the adrenaline or the situation, but running felt like the easiest thing in the world right now. She sprinted down the hallway, quick and nimble on her feet, and wondered why she had avoided doing this at any cost in high school. It was actually super fun.

The hallway looked like a standard hospital hallway, complete with handrails along the walls, but there weren’t any signs, so she just ran aimlessly, hoping to stumble across the exit before she ran into another person.

Ahead of her was a set of double doors that seemed promising. It looked like there was a sheet of plastic behind them, which could mean a few things, the options flicked through Laura’s mind – quarantine, zombie apocalypse, illegal organ harvesting...

She stopped in place and hoisted her shirt up, checking herself over frantically for any fresh scars, but she thankfully couldn’t see anything. Yet.

One of the doors swung open and she quickly ducked into one of the rooms on the side. Her heart pounded in her ears as she pressed herself flat against the wall, hoping that they hadn’t seen her. She glanced through the rectangular window panel on the door and saw two women in what looked like army uniforms walk past, talking about that night’s episode of Scandal.

Laura quickly tuned them out – ugh, spoilers – and waited until they were out of sight before letting herself out of the room, watching as they retreated down the hallway.

“Going somewhere, cutie?”

Laura spun around and standing there – still in her ridiculous jumpsuit – was the girl from earlier. Laura automatically moved into a defensive position, shifting forward onto the balls of her feet and distributing her weight evenly. Her grip on the bed frame parts tightened.

The woman raised an eyebrow, eyeing Laura up and down. When she got to the bed parts she smirked. “Destroying the furniture?” She tutted, wagging her finger at Laura. “You’re a terrible guest.”

That proved it. This infuriating woman had kidnapped her and was probably trying to take her kidneys or something. Laura started towards her, steps sure and her muscles coiled and ready. She flung her arm around towards her, bed part and all.

Just before the panel made contact with the woman’s jaw, she slipped away with a smooth ease, ducking under it. The momentum of the heavy plastic threw Laura off balance, and she had to stumble forward to catch herself before she fell over. The other woman took advantage of this, stepping in behind Laura and kicking the back of Laura’s right knee in so that it buckled and Laura fell down onto it

The woman’s arm wound around Laura’s neck, holding her in the crook of her elbow. “Calm down, Cujo.”

Laura grunted and let go of the bed frame parts, ignoring the way that the handcuffs scraped against her skin as she reached behind her and grabbed the woman. She ducked down and pulled her over the top of her, slamming her down on the ground in front of her.

She held her there, hands on her shoulders, as she glared down at her. “Where am I? What do you want with-?”

The woman grabbed the frame parts, tugging them forward suddenly and pulling Laura’s arms out from under her so that she landed on top of her. Then, in a move that left Laura’s head spinning, she flipped Laura over again, so that she was on her ass, with the woman wrapped around her, and the sharp prick of a knife against her throat.

“It’s adorable that you think you can get the upper hand,” she purred into Laura’s ear, “but I’m not a fan of playing with my food.”

“Playing with your-” Laura’s eyebrows rose, suddenly the whole life or death situation was forgotten, because did she really know what she had just said? “Does that mean that you’re going to… eat… me?”

The woman let out a frustrated noise. “Don’t be such a frat boy.” She stood up and hauled Laura onto her feet. “Come on, let’s get you back to your room.”

Laura wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she’d just been subdued by her, or if it was the tone of her voice - making it sound like she was an elderly woman who had just gotten confused and wandered off -, but something made her anger flare up again.

The knife against her throat eased.

She threw her left elbow back into the woman’s ribs, and used the moment of shock to duck down, swinging her arm around and using the bed frame to sweep her off her feet.

The woman landed heavily, head slamming against the floor in her surprise. She groaned and glared up at Laura, her eyes suddenly sharp in their focus, and unease flooded Laura’s body. She had a feeling that she had just poked the bear.

Putting her palms down on the floor behind her shoulders, the woman vaulted herself up off the ground, flying legs first right towards Laura. Before she could react, the woman’s thighs were around her neck and she was being flipped over and onto the ground.

A fist came down towards her face and she only just managed to grab one of the panels and hold it in front of her. The plastic crunched with the force and Laura’s breath came in hard bursts as she shoved the panel back, putting all of her force behind it, and sending the other woman flying back into the wall behind her.

Laura stared at the dent that it left on the wall as the woman slid down. She managed to land in a crouch, and she looked up at Laura with a deadly glower. Using her hands and feet, she pushed herself up into a full on run towards Laura. Laura took in a breath, steadying herself, and somehow things seemed to slow. Not in a normal way, not even in a movie way. Just in the way that Laura felt like she had the time to scope out the way the other woman was favouring her left leg ever so slightly, and to put together a plan and ready her body for it.

She twisted her hands around, gripping onto the chains of the handcuff, and when the woman was within range she spun, flinging the right rail down around her knees, and then bringing the left one around at her waist. They landed as a one-two punch, throwing the woman off to the side.

Laura almost felt bad, but the woman seemed to take it in stride, rolling back onto her feet, and facing Laura again.

(What was up with this girl? She was like superhero indestructible.)

She came at her again, body twisting as she swung a kick around – block –, followed by another kick – Laura caught that on her shoulder –, and then a flurry of punches and elbows – Laura held up her right panel, twisting it to shield herself.

“Laura?”

Laura turned to see LaFontaine – her dad’s PhD student – standing at the end of the hallway with a shocked expression on their face.

Then, black.

“…you have to knock her out?”

“You didn’t see what she did to me.”

“Did the tiny girl put the super spy on her ass?”

“How about you give me some of that serum and I’ll-”

Laura groaned, because the pounding headache was bad enough without the bickering. With it, it was unbearable.

She opened her eyes and standing on her left side was LaF, on her right was the asshole.

“LaFontaine? What the hell?” She reached to hold her forehead and… Yep, shackled to the bed again. Apparently a new bed too, with a reinforced steel rail this time. “Are you going to steal my organs?”

LaF frowned. “What? Why would you-? No, we’re not stealing your organs.”

“Then why am I chained to the bed?” Laura rattled the handcuffs pointedly.

“Oh.” LaF patted the pockets of their lab coat, and then frowned and looked up at the woman. “Do you have the key?”

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and got a small key out of one of her pockets and handed it over to LaFontaine with a petulant expression. LaFontaine quickly uncuffed Laura, and Laura sat up, glaring at the woman while she massaged her wrists.

“So what am I doing here then?”

“Do you remember that box that your dad left you?”

Laura eyed LaFontaine. How did they know about the box?

“The canister inside it, it released a gas.”

Laura frowned. She couldn’t remember a gas.

“It was small, microscopic really, you might not have even noticed it. But it… it changed you.”

Laura’s eyes flicked from LaF to the woman, who was scowling at her.

“Am I going to die?” Laura asked, cold fear pooling in her gut. (Quarantine, it was a quarantine. But they weren’t wearing biological hazard suits - maybe they were immune?)

“No! No, you…”

The woman rolled her eyes, clearly bored with LaFontaine’s stumbling explanation. “It was a super soldier serum.” She shrugged, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. “You’re a super soldier.”

“A _what_ now?”

“What the ripping apart of the bed and the hallway fight didn’t clue you in?” She sneered at Laura. (God, Laura really, _really_ hated her.)

“I don’t know!” she replied defensively. “I thought it was adrenaline or something.”

“You aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed are you?”

“Hey!” Laura protested. “I’m _so_ rry that I’m having some trouble dealing with being kidnapped and shackled to a bed and finding out that I’m a super soldier!”

“I didn’t kidnap you,” she scoffed, “I rescued you. You activated the atomizer in your lawyer’s office. Who even does that? Do you know how many people are after that serum? All hell broke loose and I had to drag your unconscious body out of there before you were turned into a lab rat.” The woman stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her, making the hinges rattle.

Laura and LaFontaine stared at the door in shock.

Laura turned to LaF. “Oops?”

“Don’t mind her. Agent Karnstein isn’t the easiest to get along with.”

Laura shifted on her spot on the bed, looking around the room and biting her lip. “So… Super soldier, huh?” LaF offered her an encouraging smile and Laura nodded to herself before frowning slightly and tilting her head. “What does that actually mean?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	2. Chapter 2

It turned out that it wasn’t a hospital that Laura had woken up in, but a government facility. Well, it was an old hospital that was now part of a government facility. Apparently secret government facilities had less chrome and glaring lights than Hollywood liked to portray. And a whole lot more testing.

LaFontaine had woken her up the next morning after she’d managed to get an hour or two of sleep – hospital beds were not the most comfortable thing. Plus, her mind was whirring with the implications of what had happened.

Had her dad intended for her to activate the canister? Or had he given it to her for safekeeping? Her head was leaning towards the second option, but her gut and the Krav Maga lessons that he’d signed her up for leaned towards the first.

But… super soldier? That seemed a bit out there. Especially since it would be placing Laura directly in the middle of what LaF had made seem like an international race to create one. A race that had been won and bound to Laura’s physiology.

The six-pack abs were a nice upside though.

“Rise and shine, Hollis!” LaFontaine walked into the room and snapped the blinds open. The sun pierced into the room and Laura groaned as she did her best to shield her eyes from it.

LaFontaine leaned on the bed rails and peered at Laura. “Not a morning person, huh?”

“Apparently, super soldier serum doesn’t change that,” Laura quipped.

LaF grinned and snapped down one of the rails. “Come on then, we’ve got a whole bunch of tests to run.”

“Ugh,” Laura groaned, “I hate tests. Why are there tests?”

LaF shrugged as they helped her peel all the electrodes off her skin. “Super soldier gets created, people tend to want to know what they can do.”

“Right.” Laura hopped off the bed and stretched out. It was odd, like she could feel every single muscle in her body and knew exactly what each one was doing. She bent forward, grabbing onto her toes - something she hadn’t been able to do since she was a kid - and then walked her hands forward on the ground, trying to stretch a muscle group in her back that still felt tight.

She stood back up and reached her hands up as high as they would go, knotting her fingers together and moving the stretch from side to side.

She noticed LaF watching her with an amused expression and she dropped her arms back down by her sides. “So, where can a super soldier get a cup of coffee around here?”

The morning was full of mental testing, which was not the kind of testing that Laura had expected. LaF had dropped her off in a clean white room, wishing her luck. It was empty, save for a computer on a desk in the middle of the room and a long mirror along the wall behind it which was obviously a one-way mirror. Laura walked up to the mirror, staring at it, wondering who was standing on the other side.

There was a crackle of a speaker and a voice boomed down from the ceiling,“Please take a seat at the computer, Miss Hollis.”

Laura did so, with one last glance towards the mirror, and started her testing. There were numerical tests, comprehension, IQ, spatial awareness and reasoning, logic, morality and a whole bunch of others that made Laura feel like her brain was going to start leaking out of her ears.

Finally, the computer screen went blank and the door opened. LaF popped their head around it and gave Laura an apologetic grin. Laura didn’t mind, she was just glad to be out of the room.

LaF had lunch with her, in a large room that was obviously a cafeteria but was empty except for them. Laura wondered if they had staggered her lunch so that no one else in the building would see her (and whether that was for their benefit or hers).

The meal they fed her was huge and Laura devoured it, feeling like she hadn’t eaten in months. LaF explained that her metabolism was different now between bites of their own, smaller, meal. All that Laura heard was ‘you can eat whatever you want and never gain a pound’. She was totally buying out the cookies section of her local supermarket when she got home.

After lunch was health testing. LaF was with her for this one, cracking jokes while a curt doctor ran her through a battery of tests. He was a short man, shorter than Laura, and stocky. He tested her eyesight, reflexes, balance, drew blood, and even took an MRI and full body scan for good measure. After each test Laura tried to gauge his reaction, but he didn’t show any exterior emotions.

Then, came the fitness testing.

Laura _hated_ fitness testing. At least, she hated fitness testing back in high school. Now it was different. They put her on a treadmill to perform a stress test and she ran at its top speed for so long that it started smoking. And yet, she felt fine the whole time.

They tried to test her strength and - after a long session of how to lift weights properly and the right stance so she wouldn’t hurt herself - she lifted the heaviest weights they had with ease. In fact, they fit as many weight plates as they could onto the bar and it still barely felt like an effort to her. (She was still half convinced that this was all a joke and that they were fake foam weights or something - but the thick cords of muscle that now wrapped around her arms was enough to assure her otherwise.)

They got her to have a go at the punching bag and she knocked it clear off the chain, into the opposite wall.

They were done with fitness testing after that.

“Alright,” LaF looked slightly stressed from having to dodge the flying punching bag, “let's try fighting.”

The door of the gym opened and in stalked the woman from yesterday, wearing exercise skins and looking like she would rather be anywhere in the world except here.

Laura’s eyes went from Agent Karnstein to LaF and she shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t think you can take me, cupcake?”

Laura’s eyes narrowed. “I just don’t want to hurt you.”

Agent Karnstein hoisted herself into the boxing ring in the centre of the room, sliding between the ropes with an effortless fluidity that made a flash of arousal pang in Laura’s gut - but it quickly turned to a disgusted anger as she saw her smirk.

“That’s cute, sweetheart.” Karnstein leaned on the top rope. “Like you could.”

Laura’s hands turned into fists.

She strode towards the boxing ring, all of her reasoning fading to a static of anger. She let the energy flow from the centre of herself all the way to the tips of her fingers, lighting up her muscles as it did.

LaFontaine jogged to keep by her side, their eyes leaping from Laura to Karnstein panickedly. “It’s just a sparring match, no one is meant to hurt anyone. You can tap out at any time. This is just meant to be a test run.”

“Test run this,” Laura muttered under her breath as she pulled herself up onto the boxing ring floor, rolling under the ropes and leaping onto her feet. Karnstein watched her do so without blinking, no readable emotion displayed in her dark eyes.

Laura’s rage covered her like a suit of armour. She was going to punch her right in her ridiculous movie star jaw.

The agent just casually sauntered to the centre of the ring opposite Laura. Her posture seemed relaxed, but Laura could spot the careful way she held her limbs, making sure to keep them loose and ready.

Laura took in a breath through her nose, filling her lungs, and then let it out through her mouth and lunged forward, swinging out with her fist. Karnstein moved like water, sliding around the outside of her arm and giving a quick, solid punch to her ribs that should have hurt a lot more than it did.

Laura spun to try and face the agent head on, but she was slipping by again, delivering a hard kick to the back of her knees. She took advantage of Laura’s momentary loss of balance by grabbing Laura into a full Nelson, her arms looping around Laura’s arms from behind, her hands on the back of Laura’s neck.

Laura grunted and locked Karnstein’s arms in place, ducking down and rolling forward so that she slammed the agent onto the ground on her back with Laura still on top of her, pinning her there. Laura thrust an elbow into the agent’s gut, winding her and got to her feet, feeling more than a little celebratory that she’d pinned the spy.

Agent Karnstein looked less than impressed.

She flipped up onto her feet and this time her stance was far more offensive - gone was the casual boredom from before, now she looked dangerous, like a snake poised to strike. She was the one to charge forward first, and Laura steeled herself, but instead of a punch or kick, she dropped down almost flat against the floor with her weight back on her right hand, her legs sweeping Laura’s in a devastating accuracy. Laura slammed down on her side on the ring floor, and Karnstein’s legs swung up and around in an arc to land across Laura’s neck and hold her against the ground.

Laura glared at the agent and grabbed her legs, swinging her up and over, flinging her into the air.

Karnstein went flying out of the boxing ring, and landed on the gymnasium mats with a hard thump.

“Oh shit!” Laura scrambled to her feet and went to the ropes, eyes wide. “Oh God, I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry! I really-”

Agent Karnstein had rolled up onto her feet and was now sprinting at a full run towards the boxing ring. Laura frowned and backed away from the ropes - what was she doing?

Karnstein jumped, grabbing onto the top rope and swinging her body up over it in an arc that looked gymnastic, which brought her legs down on either side of Laura’s neck and-

Floor.

Fuck. Laura groaned internally. She never thought she’d think this, but the whole legs around her head thing? It was getting real old.

She shoved herself onto her feet and raised her arms to protect her ribs, watching the agent warily as they started to slowly circle each other in the boxing ring.

The door of the gymnasium banged open loudly and Laura glanced over to see a uniformed woman walk in. She felt Karnstein move, and when she looked back, Karnstein was ducking in close to her, jabbing up with her fist. Laura blocked her, but it threw her stance off, letting the agent throw her knee up right into the side and make Laura stumble backwards.

“Karnstein,” the woman spoke. Her voice was heavy with authority, and it made Karnstein snap to attention.

“Major.”

“You have a mission. Gear up.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The major walked out of the gymnasium and Karnstein turned back to Laura, who was feeling the tenderness of her ribs and wondering if they were broken. The agent winked at her. “This was fun.” She stepped through the ropes and bent down to slip through the gap, giving Laura a blatant view of her ass (and yeah, maybe she had looked, but it was like _right there_ ). “Don’t lose focus, Hollis.”

Laura was about to ask what she meant when a towel hit her in the face. She yanked it off her face with a scowl, but the agent was already halfway out the door.

“ _Dude_.”

Laura looked over at LaF, whose face was almost splitting with their glee. “That was fucking awesome.”

Laura rolled her eyes and used the towel to wipe off her face, which... okay, so super soldiers apparently didn’t really sweat. Which was odd, but nice.

Laura sat on the edge of the boxing ring and rested her chin on the ropes as LaF came over to offer her a water bottle. Laura took a sip, her attention back on the door that the agent had left through. “What mission did she go on?”

“Classified, Hollis.”

“Am I going to go on missions?”

LaFontaine cleared their throat and shifted uncomfortably, looking around the gym everywhere except for Laura.

“LaF?”

“Do you want to go on missions?”

Laura knew that it was a deflection, but it was a good question regardless. She took another sip of her water as she considered it. “Depends on the mission.” She started to play with the lid. “I want to help people.”

When she finally looked back up at LaFontaine, they were smiling at her proudly. “You’re just like your dad.”

Laura smiled sadly and screwed the lid of the bottle shut. She ducked under the rope and slid onto the ground, landing on her feet solidly. “Is there somewhere outside I can go for a run?”

“Uh, yeah. We totally have a field out the back.” LaFontaine gestured to the double doors along the right hand wall of the gym.

“Am I allowed to...?”

“Of course.” LaF looked at Laura seriously. “You aren’t our prisoner Laura.”

Laura smiled unsurely. “So I’m not like the government’s property now?”

LaFontaine laughed loudly, as if that was the most ridiculous thing that they’d ever heard. “No, of course not!”

Laura studied them for a moment and then burst into her own smile. “Okay, cool, well... I’ll catch you later.”

“Totally.”

Laura turned and jogged towards the doors, her steps lighter than before.

LaFontaine’s smile dropped as they watched Laura leave. They brought out a communication device from their pocket and tapped a quick message into it as they walked to the other doors the led back into the building.

\---

Laura slipped into the shower and sighed at the heat of the water as it ran over her skin. LaFontaine had led her to a new, markedly not hospital-y room after she’d gotten back from her run. The room was in a separate, far smaller building. Thankfully, it had a much less sterile feel to it. On the outside it was simple brick, and the inside was all wood panelling and warm lighting.

The room was small, with a single bed against one wall, and empty desk and chair along the other. There was a military style trunk at the foot of the bed, with a spare blanket, the clothes she’d worn into the lawyer’s office, and a few new changes of clothes in it. It was sparse, but it was almost comforting to Laura. It felt temporary.

Plus, it had its own ensuite.

The lights in the bathroom flicked on automatically when she entered, and it was small like the bedroom, with the toilet and sink directly next to each other and the shower jammed into the corner. There were two fresh towels folded on top of the cupboard that was built around the toilet cistern. It felt like a hotel, and the oddness of the whole situation came to a head in that moment, making her laugh, and then cry, and then laugh again.

The shower was helping, washing away the past week since her dad died, even if it was just for ten minutes.

She turned off the shower and stood there, listening the sound of water dripping off her body and the hum of the base, lost for a moment. She shook herself free of it and hopped out of the shower, drying herself off and watching her body move in the large mirror over the sink and toilet cupboard. It was still super weird.

It wasn’t like she’d ever been at either extreme when it came to her body, but it had always hovered around the same size. Small, thin, with no real definition anywhere nor any wish to have any.

Now, her muscles were impossible to miss. Her frame was still petite, but it was wiry; each muscle sinew flexed and rippled as she moved her arms. She twisted, checking out her back in the mirror, and whoa.

She lifted her arms over her head and watched the muscles in her back shift.

She could get used to this.

She went into her bedroom and pulled out the clothes that were in the trunk, opting for the long-sleeved grey shirt and linen pants for dinner. She supposed that she should be cold, the clothes weren’t very thick, but she felt fine. Maybe her body temperature had been affected too, she would have to ask LaF.

She made her way through the grounds back to the cafeteria quickly, her hunger was definitely back something fierce. When she opened the cafeteria doors she was greeted by a very different room from the one she’d experienced at lunch time.

This time, the cafeteria was full. And everyone in the room turned to stare at her as she stood there in her clothes that could have passed for pyjamas, feeling very much like she had just ruined her first impression on the group of what looked like mostly soldiers - and all of them female.

LaFontaine got up and quickly went over to Laura, who was staring around the room with a deer-in-headlights expression. “Hey, L, I didn’t know you were having dinner now.”

They looked worried, and Laura frowned - that was weird.

“Yeah, I’m hungry,” she replied with an edge of defensiveness.

LaFontaine glanced around them. “Totally, yeah, I just-”

“Is this her?” A towering, furious looking red-head walked up to them and crossed her arms.

LaFontaine’s eyes shut and Laura could see them groaning internally. Then they spun around to the redhead. “Sergeant Lawrence, sit down.”

“What? I just want to know if this is the kid that they decided would be more suitable for the serum than me.” She tipped her chin up in a challenge.

Laura raised an eyebrow - she was meant to get the serum?

“Come on Danny, go eat your dinner.”

“I’m just curious. I mean, I did all the psych tests, I did the physicals, I did those puzzle solving situation things. How come she got it, huh?”

“Maybe she’s just better than you, Xena,” a voice drawled from behind her. Laura peered around the soldier to see Agent Karnstein sitting at a table, examining her nails with a bored expression on her face.

“Shut up, Karnstein. I didn’t see you pass any of the tests.”

“I didn’t take the tests, genius. _I_ don’t need some magic potion to do my job.”

Danny was starting to go red in the face. “What are you saying?”

Karnstein finally looked Danny in the face, raising an eyebrow in a perfectly executed move. “What do you think I’m saying?”

Lawrence growled and lunged for the agent, who just grabbed Danny’s arm and twisted it. Hard. She stood and spun Danny around so that she had her arm behind her back, and applied pressure to it. Danny let out a grunt of pain.

Karnstein leaned up on her toes so that her face was closer to Danny’s. “I think you should go and eat your dinner in peace, don’t you?”

Danny let out a frustrated sound, but after a touch more pressure from Karnstein, she growled, “Fine.”

“Good girl.”

Karnstein let her go and Danny spun around to glare at her, cradling her wrist with her other hand as she went back other to her seat and started to prod her food with a pissed off look.

“Thanks,” Laura thanked the agent, even if it kind of made her feel annoyed to do it. She shoved aside her petty grudge for a moment. “What’s your name?”

Karnstein sneered at Laura and sat down, ignoring her question completely.

Laura reddened at the agent’s snub - God, she hated that woman - and followed LaF to their table and ate dinner with them and their lab assistant, Lola Perry. At the end of dinner Laura was dumping her used tray on the conveyer belt when Agent Karnstein slid in behind her.

“It’s Carmilla.”

Laura turned to face her, surprised that she’d gotten a reply at all, but Carmilla’s face was completely blank, as if she hadn’t spoken at all. Laura turned back to the conveyer belt, watching her tray move through the hole in the wall into the back of the kitchen. “Nice to meet you, Carmilla.”

When she turned back around, Carmilla was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: 'Boot' is military slang for someone who's inexperienced

Laura closed her eyes and clasped her gloved hands together, trying to focus on the feeling of the fabric between her fingers instead the wind that was buffeting through the open plane door.

“Are you ready, Hollis?” Carmilla asked from the seat next to her. Her voice was tinny in Laura’s earpiece, just loud enough over the sound of the plane.

Before Laura could reply, Danny Lawrence shouted from the other side of the plane, “She better be ready.”

“Shut up, Agent Orange,” Carmilla snapped back.

“Hey, if this mission fails because we had to take the Boot,” Danny gestured roughly at Laura, “then there’s going to be hell to pay.”

Laura flinched at the tone of Danny’s voice. She and Danny had crossed paths a few times since they’d first met, when Danny was running drills with the soldiers, or in the cafeteria, and each time Danny had been incredibly hostile. At one point she’d even tried to pull a horribly high school move and shove her aside in the food line (this hadn’t worked out for Danny, who hadn’t been able to even budge the much smaller Laura).

Laura never knew how to respond; she didn’t want to incense the redhead more than her presence apparently already did. So she just tried to keep out of her way and avoid eye contact.

So, it wasn’t great when Laura had been sent on her first mission with Carmilla, Danny and two other soldiers that Laura didn’t know the names of. (Danny had all the soldiers on her side, so Laura’s social circle at the base only extended to LaFontaine and Perry.)

But, apparently Carmilla had no problem making an enemy out of the sergeant. “Your jealousy would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.”

Danny scowled hard from the other side of the plane as she started to check her equipment again.

Laura didn’t know if Carmilla just enjoyed annoying the sergeant, or if she was doing it to defend Laura, but the fact that she still antagonised Laura at every chance she got made Laura think it was the former.

“We’re getting close to the drop zone, masks on,” Danny ordered with a chilly voice.

Laura snapped on her oxygen mask and checked her tank, making sure the flow was okay. She’d done a HALO training jump a tonne of times in the sim room with LaF, but this wasn’t a simulation. This was real.

(Oh God, this was real. What was she doing? How was she here? How could she do this? She was totally going to die.)

Danny checked her watch and spun her pointer finger in the air. “Let’s go ladies.” She stood up and grabbed onto the pole along the ceiling, taking steps towards the open back door of the plane. The two other soldiers along Danny’s side of the plane fell into line behind her and Laura sucked in several hard and fast breaths from her oxygen tank.

Carmilla elbowed her. She was meant to be next in line, but she couldn’t- she couldn’t- she-

Carmilla dug her elbow deeper into Laura’s side. “Hollis. Get up.”

From the front of the line, Danny looked back to see what was happening. “I knew it. Leave her on the plane, send her back to base.”

Carmilla ignored Danny, standing up in front of Laura and leaning forward so her face was in Laura’s while she shouted so loudly that Laura could hear her even without the earpiece, “Hollis. You can do this. You trained for this. _You can do this_.”

Laura stared back at the agent, whose eyes were burning with something that she had never seen in her before.

“Alright?” Carmilla prompted.

Laura nodded, although her equipment made the nod disappear, so she clarified, “Okay.”

Carmilla stepped aside, letting Laura stand up and join the line, with Carmilla lining up behind her. Laura could sense Carmilla behind her in a really weird way, but before she could examine the feeling any further she caught Danny sneering at her over her shoulder.

“On my mark, troops. 3, 2...” She let go of the pole and flung herself forward out of the plane, shortly followed by the two soldiers and Laura stepped up to the edge and stared down. They were so high up off the ground right now that Laura couldn’t even process how far away it was.

“Hollis,” Carmilla’s voice was gravelly in her ears and Laura gulped a mouthful of oxygen in as she launched herself out of the plane, doing an average skill roll into her first position, getting her bearings and tracking where the other jumpers were.

( _Holy fucking shit!_ )

Hurtling through the air was nothing like she thought it would be - it was electric, it was being _alive_ in a way she’d never felt before. She started to cheer, the whoops being forced from her chest by the air pressure.

Laughter exploded in her earpiece and she recognised Carmilla’s voice as she asked, “Having fun there, cupcake?”

“Let’s stay on mission,” Danny interrupted before Laura could reply.

“Boo, Sergeant Pepper.”

Laura couldn’t help but smile at Carmilla’s response.

The air felt solid, almost like what she imagined diving into a waterfall would feel like. She looked up and saw Carmilla just above her. Carmilla noticed her and gave her a thumbs up, which Laura returned.

“2000 feet, hero,” Carmilla reminded her of the parachute deployment level.

The parachute had an automatic activation device, but Laura kept an eye on her altimeter, watching the numbers plummeting as the ground came screaming towards her.

5000, 4000, 3000, 2500...

Laura performed her second roll, and as she pulled up out of it her parachute deployed and she was suddenly pulled into a slower fall, jerking her whole body and making her lose her breath for a moment. She grabbed onto the parachute handles and started to direct herself to the drop zone, following the rest of the team.

She tried to look around the landscape to figure out where they were. They hadn’t said where they were landing - apparently that was classified - and it made her feel all sorts of uncomfortable. But getting an inside look at exactly what the agency was doing was something Laura couldn’t pass up.

Plus, there was a part of her that wanted to see how her training and her new super-soldier abilities would work in the field.

Danny and the other soldiers landed on the ground smoothly, it was obvious that they were well acquainted with HALO jumps. The training echoed in her mind, as well as the possible failures.

“You good to land?”

Laura felt her breath catch in her throat and she managed to choke out, “Totally.”

Carmilla directed herself down next to Laura and they both looked at each other.

“Let’s do this, super.”

Carmilla veered away from her so they had enough room to land, and they both touched down at the same time. Laura threw herself sideways so that her whole body made contact with the ground, distributing the landing shock across her body - although she had a feeling that with her higher pain tolerance she probably didn’t need to.

They’d landed on a patch of dirt in a sandy area and Laura brushed herself off as she flicked her goggles to a more sensitive night vision mode and started to secure her gear in her pack, glad to get the oxygen mask off and breathe in some normal altitude air.

Danny and the two soldiers had already organised themselves and Danny was fiddling with her watch. “We’re 5 klicks from the target.” Danny shot a look over at Laura. “Can you cover that in 20 minutes?”

Laura smirked.

\---

“The point,” Danny wheezed, “of a team operation,” she wheezed again, “is to stay together.”

“Oh I’m sorry, was I going to fast for you?” Laura asked sweetly.

Carmilla snickered over the radio and Laura felt a moment of pride before remembering how frustrating the agent could be, and focused on that instead. Sure, she was actually kind of nice during the jump, but she was still the same cocky asshole that she sparred with. Shaking herself free of thinking about Carmilla, she focused on the target ahead, letting herself fall back in with the rest of them as she spotted it on the horizon.

Danny pulled in front of her, and Laura could sense the pride that rolled off her. It took all she had not to overtake her again with a casual ‘on your left’, but she bit her tongue and focused on the mission at hand.

Infiltrate the base, get the information, leave without raising the alarm.

Who the base belonged to and what the information was were classified, but she’d seen her dad’s name on the mission briefing. He had been a part of this, in some way, and that was enough for her. For now.

They stopped short of the compound, ducking behind a ridge as Danny relayed orders to everyone. The two other soldiers would head to the electrical system, diverting the security and keeping them under the radar, while she and Carmilla would infiltrate. And Laura would... mind their gear.

“Are you serious?”

Danny turned to her, eyes flashing. “You’re a liability, Hollis. I’m not having you put my people in danger because you’re a Boot. We’ll be on radio silence as soon as we head in. Stay here, keep a look out, and if you see anything bad, send up a flare. If that’s not good enough for you then you can go sulk somewhere else, away from my mission.”

Laura was ready to fire back, but the look on Danny’s face was deadly. Danny was the commanding officer, even if she was wasting the potential of a super soldier because of some dumb grudge. There was no universe where Laura could change her mind. So, Laura shut up, and turned her attention back to the compound, not giving Danny the victory of a verbal response. She half-expected Carmilla to say something, but the agent kept her mouth shut and Laura hardened. (Of course she didn’t say anything, Laura was such an _idiot_.)

“Let’s move out.”

They all started making their stealthy approach to the compound. Laura cast a scathing look towards the pile of excess gear, and huffed. _Whatever_.

She didn’t know why they had to be on radio silence, LaFontaine had assured them several times that their earpiece implants would be fine to receive audio in the field and the signal was untraceable. The soldiers were just so stuck in their ways. It was one of the friction points Laura had observed between the PhD student and the sergeant and her troops. Keyword, points. They seemed to disagree on almost every point, and lately Laura had been a source of great contention.

LaFontaine wanted her out in the field, but Danny had insisted on a two week intensive training program. So Laura had done the training program. And now she was finally out in the field, doing more than just drills, and all she could do was sit in the dirt. Her muscles, her new and now fairly honed muscles, were aching to do something. The run had warmed her up, and it was as if her body could sense that there was something happening at the base in front of her.

Trying to see something from the outside offered no information, if she hadn’t seen them go in she wouldn’t have even known an infiltration was happening. She sighed and glanced down at her GPS watch, making a note of the coordinates for checking up later. She needed to know where they were, and maybe that would lead her to what they were retrieving.

There was the rumble of an engine and grind of tires on dirt to her side and she ducked down, flattening herself along the ground and peering up slightly to see a military truck driving along the road, coming to a stop outside the compound. A guard got out of the booth and walked up to the car, having a brief conversation with the occupants, and then his head flew back, blood spraying as he crumpled backwards in an awkward fall.

Laura started and buried her closed mouth deeper into the dirt. She’d had all sorts of horrible experiences with death before, but not like this, not this violent stealing of life right before her eyes. Suddenly it didn’t matter anymore, the pride, the covert nature of the mission. She stared at the man bent over backwards and none of that mattered.

A figure dressed in an all black uniform from the truck got out and went over to the booth, raising the boom gate and letting the truck roll in.

Laura scrabbled through her gear for the flare. She found it and her fingers closed around the flare gun. Then she hesitated. Surely she’d just be putting them in more danger? Alerting the compound to intruders. It would turn into a firefight and they wouldn’t get the information and would likely get killed. There was a better way to do this.

She took off her pack, leaving it with the others and covering it with a camo sheet. She started to run towards the compound, down low through the shadows, hoping not to attract any attention.

She got to the fallen man. His eyes were still open, staring up at the night sky as if in his last moment he had been desperate to drink the stars in one last time.

Swallowing down her feelings, Laura ducked under the boom gate and continued into the dark compound.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears but she focused herself, practicing the breathing exercise that Carmilla had taught her during training. She had been an absolutely terrible shot until Carmilla had helped her steady her breathing and suddenly she could focus with pinpoint accuracy. It was like something else kicked in, something new. Something deadly.

Laura peered around one of the warehouses, searching for the truck. She spotted it parked a few hundred metres away, and ran towards it as quickly and quietly as she could. She hugged the back tire and inched herself up to the window. There was only one person inside, the driver. He was tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel, humming to himself.

Laura glanced around quickly before opening the back door of the driver’s side quietly and slid into the car. She pulled the knife from its sheath and in one lightning fast motion, grabbed the man by the throat and pressed the edge of the blade against his skin.

“Who are you?” Laura pressed the knife harder against his throat. “What are you doing here?”

“I-I’m just the driver, I don’t know. Please don’t hurt me.”

Laura grunted and rearranged her arms into a chokehold, clamping down until she felt him fall unconscious. She scanned the vehicle for information, but it was empty of anything useful. She shoved the knife back in her sheath and searched the area around her. She couldn’t see anyone else around the area, but the front door was ajar in the building that the car was parked in front.

She snuck out of the car and moved around the truck, keeping close to the body of the car until she got to the door and hesitated, trying to peer through the open sliver between the door and the doorway. She couldn’t see anything so she put her palm on the door and slowly pushed it open, ears perked for any sign of something from the inside. She heard the distant echo of voices and stopped herself, stepping away from the door and looking up - trying to figure out if there was a better way she could see what was happening in the building.

There were a few windows, high up, right below the roof. She had to get up there, she had to get up-

Her eyes fell on the truck with the unconscious driver.

Once she released the parking brake pushing the truck into the alleyway by the side of the building was a cinch. She had one hand on the wheel, the other pushing from inside the window frame. At one point the driver stirred but a sharp jab with her elbow later he was slumped back down.

She yanked the parking brake back up once she’d lined the truck up where she needed it and lifted herself onto its roof, landing on it with gentle feet. She stared up at the lip of the building roof that she wanted to grab onto and cursed her height. She had one shot at this, if she made the jump successfully she would be hidden from sight by the building next door, but if she fell and clattered against the car roof she’d definitely draw attention to herself.

(Alright Hollis, you can do this.)

She took in a breath, crouched down, and jumped.

Her elbows hit the edge, she’d way overestimated the jump, and she slammed her hands down, desperately trying to grab onto the roof, but her gloved fingers couldn’t find purchase.

Her fingertips scrabbled as they slid down the corrugated iron and the bottom of her stomach fell out - _no, no, no, no, no_ \- until a gloved hand reached over the edge, grabbed her by the wrist and hoisted her up.

Laura did the math quickly; if she kicked herself away from the person she could probably get enough momentum to land on the ground instead of the car and maybe that wouldn’t make too much noise, but if someone already knew-

Carmilla smirked at Laura as she pulled her into view.

Carmilla had ditched her military gear in favour for the jumpsuit that Laura had first seen her in, and looked perfectly comfortable as she lifted Laura onto her feet on the roof. Carmilla held her pointer finger to her lips - as if Laura didn’t already know to be quiet - and gestured for her to follow. She led them over to a skylight, and got onto her stomach, gesturing down through the clear plastic panel.

Laura imitated Carmilla and looked down. There, as well as a group of mean looking soldiers, were the other three from their team, handcuffed to the chairs and unconscious. Laura counted the enemy soldiers around the room quickly - fifteen - and estimated the drop from the roof - five, maybe six metres. She reached out to test the feeling of the skylight but Carmilla grabbed her wrist and gestured for her to wait.

Laura frowned but returned her attention to the room below them, where the men were conversing with each other. Then, the lights went out, plunging the building into darkness. There were several shocked yells and then the flash of gunfire lit up the room, along with more yells and cries.

After a few more seconds the lights flicked back on. The fifteen were all on the floor, and now there were four people dressed in all black uniforms - the same uniform she’d seen get out of the truck.

One of the group went over to Danny and rooted through her pockets, finally finding something and taking it out, putting it in their own pocket. He made a firm gesture and the four of them started to move out.

Carmilla was up and on her feet in a flash, sprinting towards the front of the building and when she got to the ledge she jumped, somersaulting down.

Carmilla’s name caught in Laura’s throat as she followed, running towards the edge, suddenly not caring what the sound of her boots made on the roof, and when she got to the edge she searched the ground for-

And she was fine. Of course she was fine, because it was totally normal for people to fling themselves off roofs and be fine. Carmilla was standing next to the door, flat against the wall, and waiting for the soldiers to come through. Except, it was taking way longer than it should have. Laura frowned, something felt weird about this.

Something moved in her peripheral vision and she turned her head to see the four soldiers in black making their way around the side of the building, weapons up and ready.

 _Shit_ , this was her fault, they’d heard her running.

She watched them approach the corner, as Carmilla kept waiting for them by the door, but she could see Carmilla’s suspicion start to gather too. She had to tell her.

“Carm-”

Agent Karnstein looked up with a dirty look and Laura gestured emphatically to the corner that they were rounding. It took Carmilla a split second to realise what Laura was trying to convey and she ran towards the truck that was still parked around the side, sliding under it.

Unfortunately, Laura had also attracted the attention of the soldiers, as a slew of bullets whizzed past her head.

A stream of curse words ran through her head as she ducked down out of the line of fire and glanced over at the ground. It looked so much further away than before. Another round of bullets and she really didn’t care, jumping off the building and cycling her legs as she fell down, down, down and onto the hard ground. The shock rang through her body, causing her to roll forward with a groan. Thankfully she hadn’t locked her knees, but it wasn’t exactly jumping into a pile of pillows.

From her angle, she could see Carmilla waiting under the car as the soldiers started to round the corner and when they got next to the car, Carmilla lashed out, sweeping the leg of one of them and causing him to fall backwards with a grunt.

One of the other soldiers was quick to grab Carmilla by the ankle and yank her out from under the car. Laura panicked and immediately got to her feet. Her left ankle was a little tender, but dealable, and she ran around the corner.

The soldier who had grabbed Carmilla - an absolutely towering, built like a wall person - threw her against the wall of the alleyway solidly.

Laura steeled herself and entered the fray, knocking aside the gun of the closest soldier who had just gotten to his feet and driving her knee up into his crotch. As he doubled over she swung him around, using him as a shield to block from the shots that were coming from the other two soldiers in the rear. The fourth soldier was still occupied with Carmilla, who had gotten to her feet, swaying somewhat, as she readied herself to take the soldier on.

The huge soldier held his fists - fists that were almost as big as Carmilla’s head - in front of his face and Carmilla spotted the standard boxer’s stance. With his size, she could have guessed that he’d go for boxing - honestly, grunts were so predictable.

He took a lunge at her with a quick jab - he was faster than he looked - and Carmilla ducked around the outside of it, sending a fist into his ribs. He barely even reacted, just reached around with his right hand and grabbed her by the hair, throwing her off to the side like a rag doll.

Before she could get up he was practically on top of her, slamming a kick into her ribs and picking her up, throwing her against the opposite wall. She fell to the floor, and her anger rose in a thick stream. Okay, so he wanted to play it like that? She could play it like that.

She slipped her hand into the back pocket of her belt, grasping something and clenching her fist around it. She pushed herself up off her feet and started towards the soldier, ducking down out of his grasp at the last moment and slamming a punch into his inner thigh. The device in her hand activated, causing an electric current to flow from it, through the outside of Carmilla’s jumpsuit, and deep into the soldier’s muscle causing him to seize and drop down with a grunt. Carmilla smirked and sent another punch to his neck, again causing him to seize and fall to the floor, body shuddering.

Carmilla reached into his chest pocket and retrieved the USB that he’d taken off Danny, putting it into the protective capsule on her belt and turning back to where Laura was throwing her elbow into the nose of the last soldier standing.

“You good?” Carmilla asked, her voice still wheezing from the kick to the ribs.

Laura nodded. Her attention dropped to the soldier Carmilla had grounded and her eyes widened. Carmilla was about to comment that size didn’t matter, when Laura started running towards her and threw her to the side onto the ground, covering her body. Her shock stopped her annoyance from boiling over in the form of incredulous words, until an explosion ripped through the alleyway and the flames licked across Carmilla’s face for a fraction of a moment before they consumed themselves and extinguished.

Carmilla gave it an extra second and then asked, “Laura?”

The girl on top of her didn’t move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	4. Chapter 4

Laura opened the door to her dad’s office, and the hinges gave a loud squeak of protest; but it wasn’t enough to get the attention of the man hunched over the glowing computer screen.

“Dad?” Laura stepped forward, her fingers curling over the edge of the plate she was carrying. “I made you dinner.”

Her dad hummed, not looking away from the computer screen as he continued to type.

Laura crept forward; she still felt like she was breaking the law when she was in her dad’s office. One of the biggest rules of her childhood was not going into his office. Something that she had defied once when she’d snuck in while he was at work, looking over the spines of his scientific books, running her hands over the polished wood of his desk, examining the messy scrawl of his writing over reams of paper, and lightly prodding a glass DNA model, which of course then fell to the ground and shattered into a hundreds of tiny pieces.

“I’ll just...” Laura put the plate down next to his elbow and quickly retreated back to the doorway, being in the room made her feel nervous, like a bull in a china shop. “How is it?”

He didn’t respond, the keys of the keyboard continuing to clack away at a rapid fire rate.

“Dad?”

The sound of typing got louder.

“Dad!”

The office chair spun around and instead of her dad’s face, it was LaFontaine. Their face started melting as they laughed heartily. “You aren’t our prisoner Laura.”

Laura stepped back in horror, her hand going to her mouth as she tried not to throw up because the _stench_. It was like the time her dad had forgotten the steaks on the barbeque, like burning and ash and _death_. Her back hit the closed door - when had that closed? - and her hand started scrabbling for the handle, unable to look away from the sight of LaFontaine clawing at their face as they continued to laugh.

Her hand found the handle, and she tried to turn it but it was red hot, searing her skin. She hissed in pain, bringing her hand to her face. Her palm was screaming, the burn in the shape of a distorted circle throbbed a bright, painful red.

Suddenly, the walls around her were on fire; the wallpaper bubbling and peeling off; the curtains going up in one huge flame; the books crackling.

Laura sank to the ground, clutching her injured hand to her chest, and started to cry tears of flames.

\---

Laura exploded awake, her chest jerking towards the ceiling as she tried to gasp breaths in and started to choke on the plastic tube that was going down her throat. She gagged, coughing on the obstruction, and her hands went to her mouth, yanking the tube out. When she managed to get the last of it out of her throat she was quick to lean over the edge of her bed, a slew of vomit following it and splattering on the floor. She coughed again, her throat felt like it was on fire, and swallowed - or tried to.

There was a cup of water on the table next to her bed and she lunged over to grab it, gulping it down so quickly that her stomach turned uncomfortably but she breathed hard, putting the empty cup to her forehead and focusing on not being sick again.

She groaned and flopped back onto the bed once she was sure that she was alright. That was definitely not pleasant.

She suddenly remembered her dream and she looked at her hand, searching for a burn mark, but there was nothing there. Her skin was smooth and unblemished; in fact, she had no idea why she was in a hospital room again. She felt fine. She glanced at the ridiculous amount of machines that they had her hooked up to and started to disconnect herself from them, turning the ones which started screaming off with either their power button or, if the button wasn’t immediately spottable, punching a hole in it.

She hunted the room for clothes - they actually had her in a gown this time and it was _breezy_ in the worst way possible. There was what looked like a laundry hamper in the corner, a metal frame with a white lid and red bag, and she opened it up to see a uniform. Her uniform. It was scorched beyond recognition. She frowned, touching the uniform with her fingertips, before the door to the room opened and she quickly closed the lid.

LaFontaine walked through the door, reading off their clipboard, and when they looked up to the bed they panicked at the empty sheets, before seeing Laura standing there. Laura grimaced and waved. “Hey.”

“You-” LaF stepped towards her, frowning as they studied her with something between curiosity and fear. “You’re fine.”

Laura shrugged. “Fit as a fiddle.”

“You were- when Carmilla brought you in- you had burns...”

 _That would explain the nightmares_ , Laura thought to herself.

LaFontaine was lifting her arms, scrutinising her skin, and they turned her around so they could examine her back.

“It’s all...” Laura couldn’t tell if LaFontaine sounded in awe or uneasy as they whispered, “Healed.”

“Can I get some clothes please?”

Laura’s question seemed to knock LaFontaine back to the present. “Yeah, yeah, totally, L. I’ll just... go get that.” LaFontaine left the room and Laura sighed, pulling the back of her gown shut as she went over to the window and used her finger to pull one of the blind slats down so she could peer through it to the day outside.

The sun was shining high in the sky, and the soldiers were doing a training drill in the field, shouting indistinguishable words back and forth as they ran in two dead straight lines. Laura squinted and spotted the unmistakable red hair of Danny Lawrence, pulled tight into a bun, as she led the lines.

So, Danny got out okay. That was good.

Laura still couldn’t remember what had happened, she knew they were on a mission, she knew that people who weren’t meant to be there turned up, she went into the compound...

Did Carmilla get out okay?

The door opened and LaF appeared again, this time with an armful of clothes. It looked like a PT uniform, a dark green shirt and shorts that were way too short to look intimidating. Laura got changed in the bathroom quickly, asking through the door, “Is Car- Agent Karnstein alright?”

The other room was silent, and Laura felt herself panic as she pulled the shirt over her head. “LaFontaine?”

“You don’t remember, do you?”

Laura opened the bathroom door and stared at LaFontaine. “Did she-?” She was surprised by how much the agent’s death upset her. Not because she cared about her, but because, well she’d known her and they’d sparred together and-

“Oh!” LaFontaine immediately started shaking their head emphatically. “No, she’s fine. She just... You saved her life.”

“I...” Laura couldn’t help the smile that spread over her face. “Really?”

“You can’t remember what happened?”

Laura shook her head. “I remember trying to get onto the roof, but after that...”

LaFontaine brought out a flashlight and shone it in each of Laura’s eyes, making her perform a few basic neuro tests, before returning their flashlight to the breast pocket of their lab coat. “It’s probably only temporary. You did recover like crazy quickly.”

“How long has it been?”

LaF checked their watch. “Eight hours.”

“Eight...” Laura echoed quietly. She glanced over at the basket she’d seen the scorched uniform in earlier. “How badly was I hurt?”

LaFontaine grimaced. “We were cutting the material off your skin.”

 _Whoa_.

Laura packed that information away to deal with at a later date, like way, _way_ later.

“Where’s Agent Karnstein?”

\---

“Look who finally got out of bed.”

Carmilla steadied the swinging punching bag and regarded Laura with a completely unsurprised expression. She was wearing a sports bra and shorts, and the side of her neck was covered with a clean white bandage.

“Apparently I saved your life last night.”

Carmilla walked over to the weights station, grabbing two pairs of boxing gloves and throwing one of them at Laura, as well as wraps for her hands.

“You don’t remember it.” It wasn’t a question, and the way Carmilla was looking at her was dead obvious that Carmilla was sure what the answer would have been if it was a question.

Laura nodded as she started to wrap her hands. Two weeks ago she had no idea what to do with the hand wraps, now - after a lot of derisive instruction from Carmilla - it was second nature.

Carmilla got into the ring and held the ropes up for Laura, which was... new. New and nice. Laura got into the ring and pulled her gloves on, punching her fists against each other to make sure they were on properly.

“No head guards?” Laura asked.

“Well, apparently you don’t need them, do you sweetheart?”

Laura flushed, but she didn’t know why.

Carmilla held out her fists and Laura bumped her gloves against hers. They both raised their gloves and started to shuffle around each other, keeping light on their toes and watching the other closely.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Laura asked.

Carmilla’s eyes darted to the door of the gym, Laura capitalised and sent a hook her way, but Carmilla still dodged it and moved in for a body shot.

Still, the look was enough for Laura to get the meaning - _not now, not here_ \- and she settled into the dance of the sparring match.

Carmilla boxed in a way that was almost lazy; she hardly ever made the first move, often just parrying or countering Laura’s shots. It was frustrating, because it felt like Carmilla was just toying with her, trying to rile her up. The smirk on Carmilla’s face didn’t help with that.

Landing a punch on Carmilla was like trying to grab at smoke, the agent was fast on her feet and never stayed still unless it was a trap (something Laura had learned the hard way). The gloves made Laura feel heavier, the rules of boxing trapped her instinct that Krav Maga had instilled, making her feel like she was trying to operate under water. Always checking her stance, making sure her elbows were down and in, and that her rear hand was at her cheek level, on a diagonal angle to her chin.

She had a feeling that this was why their past week of sparring had been boxing ones, she had started to win their other sessions more often. Carmilla kept her cards close to her chest, but when Laura had her pinned on the mat she could feel her fury roll off her in waves.

Either way, it felt good to be on the mat again. To be doing something like this, something small, something-

Oh _God._

Laura’s hands dropped and Carmilla delivered a straight punch, slamming her right in the face and sending her falling back onto the mat.

When Laura didn’t stand back up again - which was more about the realisation she’d just had, not the punch - Carmilla stood over her. “You alright there, super?”

“I remember,” Laura muttered.

Carmilla glanced back up to the gym door before ripping open the velcro on her gloves with her teeth, holding a hand out to pull Laura back up onto her feet. “Let’s go for a run.”

\---

The base was right on the border of what looked like a national park, so massive that it practically begged for a horror movie to be filmed in it. There was one path that the troops usually took through it, they called it the Acheron’s Path, it led up the mountains, through the roughest of terrains, and was about 50km in length.

Laura had heard about the Acheron’s Path, had seen groups of the soldiers returning from it, but she’d never been on it. Apparently she was an asset, and needed an escort to do the hike, despite having superhuman abilities. So, with Sergeant Lawrence having turned all of the soldiers against her, it wasn’t really an option.

Carmilla signed them both out of the back gate of the base silently. She hadn’t spoken since suggesting the run, despite Laura trying to start conversation a few times. There was something in the way Carmilla was carrying herself that was off, usually the agent was limber and loose, ready to spring into action; now she was stiff and uncomfortable.

She turned back to Laura and raised an eyebrow. “Coming?”

They fell into a casual jog, well, casual for Laura. It felt like they were barely moving faster than a walking pace, but five kilometres in Laura could hear the shift in Carmilla’s breathing, although a glance at the agent revealed nothing externally. She checked her watch, they were clocking five minute miles, which was not really the relaxed pace that she thought she’d been setting. She eased off slightly and Carmilla glared at her, furious at the mere hint that Carmilla couldn’t keep up.

Laura shrugged internally and went back up to her previous pace. To Carmilla's credit, she matched it with a stubborn determination. It wasn’t until 15 km in that she started lagging behind, until she finally came to a stop. Just when Laura had hit a really nice stride too. Laura circled back to Carmilla, continuing to jog on the spot so she didn’t lose her pace.

Carmilla stared at her incredulously and shook her head. She grabbed Laura by the arm and yanked her off the path into the bushes. Laura let out a surprised yelp, causing Carmilla to cover her mouth with her hand as they crouched in the bushes. They’d been there for a few minutes and Laura was about to say something when a group of three soldiers stopped on the path where they’d been and started looking around.

“...they’ve left the path, ma’am.” There was a pause as the soldier listened to her comm system and then replied, “Yes, ma’am.” She clicked her radio off and made a grunt of annoyance to the other soldiers, “We have to find them or we’re getting latrine duty.”

“How did we get stuck with babysitting?”

“Well, if _some_ one hadn’t made us late...” They started to jog further down the path, their voices fading as they did.

Carmilla’s hand slowly moved away from Laura’s mouth, as if she wasn’t yet sure if Laura would try talking again and she’d have to cover her mouth. Because apparently Carmilla thought Laura was a complete and utter idiot.

Carmilla started to walk further away from the path, deeper into the bushes; careful to step where it would make the least amount of noise. Laura glanced back at the path, and then followed Carmilla.

They were in one of the most mountainous areas of the path, which was probably why Carmilla had chosen this part to depart, the ground was so steep going down that Laura had to be careful with each step so she didn’t go tumbling down. Carmilla seemed confident about where she was going, barely needing to look down as she continued to walk down and to the side. After fifteen minutes of walking they came across a stream, not quite a river, but definitely larger than a trickle.

It ran down the side of the mountain, over a large protruding rock that had turned into a spout over time, and continuing down. Carmilla walked up to the rock and ducked through the water. Laura hesitated, because this was entering weird childhood secret worlds territory and Carmilla still hadn’t said anything to explain what was happening.

Laura took in a breath - _okay, it’s okay, you are a super soldier, you’ll be fine_ \- and followed Carmilla through the freezing water.

She wiped her face free of the water and opened her eyes. Carmilla had pulled a mini circular light out of her pocket and put it on the ground, which did a good job of chasing away the shadows and giving Laura a good look at the area they were in, which was surprisingly spacious. It was still a mossy dirt cave, but at least it was a roomy one.

“Glad you could join, creampuff,” Carmilla snarked.

“Okay, you can’t just- you disappeared behind a little mini waterfall and I was just meant to follow you without-” Laura let out a grunt of annoyance as Carmilla just smirked at her. “What is going on?” she demanded.

“We needed to be somewhere that we wouldn’t be monitored.”

“I got that much,” Laura snapped.

“Tell me about what you remember.” When Laura stared at Carmilla blankly, Carmilla reminded her, “Last night.”

“Oh.” Laura frowned. “Well, you took down the big guy and I took out the other three and then... I was- I was looking at you, and the guy behind you - the big one - he started to...” Laura’s frown deepened. “He started to glow. And not like in a fun way. Like in a radioactive way. Like that guy on Heroes who was a bomb?” Laura shrugged. “So I threw you to the ground and tried to shield you and then I woke up in the hospital room.”

Carmilla looked distinctly uncomfortable and Laura was about to ask her what was wrong when Carmilla muttered, “Well, thanks. For saving my life or whatever.”

“You’re welcome?” The tense way that Carmilla had thanked her caused Laura’s response to have a question mark on the end, unsure how Carmilla would react to it.

Carmilla’s attention, however, was elsewhere as she seemed to be thinking something through.

“Are you-?” Laura cut herself off, if the last few weeks had taught her anything, the agent wasn’t one to share her thoughts and feelings, and asking would only provoke her rage.

“There are some things that you need to know, Laura.”

This was the first time that Laura had heard Carmilla use her first name and it threw her, enough so that she didn’t say anything in reply, just nodded and waited.

“This whole obsession with the super soldier serum extends beyond Big Red.”

Laura nodded. “LaF told me, there was some race like the Space Race but for creating a super soldier.”

Carmilla’s eyes darkened and Laura got the impression (not for the first time) that Carmilla wasn’t a fan of the scientist. “That’s an understatement.”

“Okay... So what’s going on?” Laura prompted.

Carmilla sighed and her hand went to her hair, a habit that Laura had pinned as her tell - Carmilla usually did it when she was stalling out of discomfort. Carmilla realised that her hair was up in a ponytail and her hand instead went to the hair tie, flicking her hair distractedly.

“I knew your dad,” she finally started, and her voice sounded surprisingly weak.

“Okay...”

“He was a good person.”

“Thanks?”

“Can you just,” Carmilla’s hand went to her hair again, deflected to her ponytail, and her eyes darted to the side, “be quiet for like two seconds?”

Laura didn’t know why Carmilla had gone off at her but she didn’t say anything, just holding her hands up in surrender.

Carmilla let out a noisy breath. “God, why do I have to be the one to...?” Carmilla muttered to herself. Then, she redirected her attention to Laura and said, “Things aren’t as happy-go-lucky as everyone here likes to pretend.”

“What-?” Laura started but remembered Carmilla’s request so she shut her mouth and waited for her to go on.

“They got desperate for the serum. But he didn’t trust them, there were... There _are_ double agents. I don’t know who they are yet, I’ve been trying to investigate them for a while, but they’re smart. I caught one once, but she took a cyanide capsule before I could get anything out of her. When he started backing out, they locked him up. Said he was contractually obligated to deliver the serum. So, he made it, put it in an impenetrable locked box, destroyed all of his research, and...” Carmilla didn’t have to say it, Laura knew how that sentence ended.

He killed himself.

Laura remembered how hurt she was in the weeks leading up to his death, he hadn’t talked to her or seen her, and she was worried about him, which turned to anger, and then back to worry. After he’d passed away from what she’d been told was cancer (was the person who’d called her even a doctor or was she another agent?) she’d assumed it was because he had been stupidly trying to save her from seeing him waste away.

She should have known better.

Laura couldn’t speak, her mouth had gone dry and she didn’t know how to do anything except stare at the agent. Her mind was a buzz of thoughts, most of them half-formed and tearing around her mind in all caps. The question that managed to make it out was, “Why did you bring me back here?”

“Because you activated it.”

Laura grimaced.

“The lawyer you saw, he’s part of the agency. They knew the only way the serum would be accessed was through your fingerprint so they baited you into opening it. But before they could get it from you, there was an attack. I was the first one to get into the room and I got you out of there. But with the serum in your veins... They would have hunted you down, locked you up and turned you into a science experiment. I figured the best way was to get you on side, get you some proper training, and keep you close.”

“Do you think it was the double agents who attacked?”

Carmilla shrugged. “Them, or the million other agencies around the world who want it.” She rolled her eyes. “This place is a joke. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the people here are selling secrets to the highest bidder.”

Laura bit her lip. “Why don’t we leave? We can just... leave right?” The idea of going on a road trip with the surly agent entered her mind suddenly and she pushed it aside - but the image of Carmilla grumpily taking in a roadside attraction was something that would not be leaving her mind any time soon.

Carmilla shook her head. “They have your blood samples and test results. We’d have to destroy the lab building before we went.”

“Maybe they won’t be able to do anything with them,” Laura suggested weakly, even though as she said it she knew it wasn’t true, that they wouldn’t be able to leave.

“There’s a reason your dad refused to make the serum. In the wrong hands...” Carmilla grimaced at the cliché nature of the words, but Laura got the gist of it.

“At first, I thought he was an idiot for sending it to you. I mean, you’re an arts graduate,” Carmilla scoffed and Laura reddened. “But, I was wrong. Giving it to a soldier, someone who follows orders without thinking, that’s a bad move. And you’re the opposite of that, so... I guess he made the right choice.”

In the midst of everything that Carmilla had just told Laura, Laura couldn’t help but be kind of... flattered? Sort of.

Laura’s hand found the necklace that her dad had given her for her 21st birthday and she rubbed the pendant between her thumb and forefinger. God, who knew being turned into a super soldier would get this intense?

“Where do we start?”

Carmilla’s lips pulled up into the smallest hint of a smile. “Down, Cujo. Give it some thought. This isn’t some sorority prank, this is taking on a government agency.” The smile disappeared from her face. “The same government agency that imprisoned your dad, and he was one of the smartest people I knew.” As an afterthought she added, “Apart from me, anyway.”

\---

Carmilla and Laura walked back into the base and were greeted by a whole troop of soldiers, led by Sergeant Lawrence.

Danny glowered at them with crossed arms. “Where have you two been?”

“We went for a hike,” Carmilla replied with a sneer, “it’s just _such_ a lovely day, we couldn’t resist.”

Danny’s eyes went from Carmilla to Laura and back again, narrowed suspiciously.

“Are we done here?” Carmilla demanded.

Danny looked loath to let them go, but she moved aside to let them pass. Laura tried to keep her shoulders and head up as much as she could, forcing herself not to flinch under the heavy examination of the soldiers. Once they passed the group, they both went their separate ways, Laura going to her bunk and Carmilla going towards the gym.

Laura walked to her room quickly, eyeing the light fixtures along the hallway, remembering Carmilla’s warning about the intense surveillance system. She got into her room and closed the door, leaning against it and letting out a breath that she felt like she’d been holding since she got back to base.

She titled her head up, looking at the opaque lamp above the door, and then at the mirror above the sink and toilet. God, had they even bugged the bathrooms?

Laura pulled herself as far into the corner as she could, sitting down on the floor and hoping that it was out of sight of the potential cameras, and started to cry. She pressed her hands hard against her mouth, forcing herself to swallow the sounds that ached to be released.

Everything that Carmilla had told her echoed in her mind - the double agents, what they’d done to her father. She remembered how furious she had been with him for not letting her say goodbye, and it made her feel physically sick now. Plus, then there was the whole super secret tug of war over what was pumping through her veins, which was just...

Carmilla was right, Laura was just some arts graduate. And sure, she wanted to save the world, practically every arts graduate did, but she didn’t think it would involve so much subterfuge. She just thought she could like maybe join a socialist, super-feminist magazine and write articles to expose the hideous underbelly of capitalism or something.

She glanced up at the mirror, which was barely visible over the edge of the cupboard, and her resolve hardened. She wouldn’t let them know how she felt, not just because it would blow her cover of naiveté, but also because they didn’t get to see her broken like this.

No. They didn’t get to see that.

Laura wiped her face clean of tears, got off the floor, and splashed some water onto her face.

Ten minutes later she was striding into the gym, where Carmilla was kicking a dummy torso.

Laura was well aware of how many listening and recording devices must be in the gym when she stood next to the dummy and said, “Let’s do this.”

Carmilla stopped kicking for a moment, long enough to smirk at Laura, before going back to the dummy and levelling a devastating kick at its neck, making it rock back and forth on its base so hard that it almost fell over.

Pleased with her kick, Carmilla turned back to Laura. “Let’s teach you how to jump properly first.”

Laura’s mouth twisted into a scowl. “I know how to jump.”

“Says the girl I had to save from falling off a roof,” Carmilla casually commented as she grabbed a towel off the floor and flicked it onto her shoulder, walking away from the dummy to a pile of wooden boxes, which were each about a metre in height.

Laura followed her, the back of her neck heating up. “Hey! I just- I’m not used to the whole super jump thing yet.”

“Whatever you say, cupcake.”

Carmilla started to pile the wooden boxes on top of each other, until there was a tower of them four metres tall - almost three times the size of Laura. Carmilla hopped off the stepladder she’d used to reach the top of the tower and smirked at the look on Laura’s face.

“You ready, super?”

Laura stared up at the tower, swallowed, looked at Carmilla and set her jaw.

 _One small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind_ , Laura thought as she focused on the tower in front of her, crouched down, and jumped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	5. Chapter 5

Laura woke up to the sound of her phone alarm. She switched it off and stared at the ‘No Service’ message in the top left corner. It had been like this since she’d arrived on base, when she’d first mentioned it to LaF they explained with a grimace that because of the high security level of the base they jammed almost all frequencies, and that no phones worked. They showed her their phone with a, ‘See?’, and Laura had taken that on face value.

Now, Laura was less willing to do that.

She took a shower and got dressed quickly, she preferred going for a run before grabbing breakfast, so that she’d get into breakfast as all the recruits were leaving to start their morning drills. She preferred it this way, the whole being stared at while trying to eat had gotten old real fast, especially with how much food her body demanded.

She got onto the field and started to jog, letting her thoughts roam as she settled into a rhythm. Her breath came out in thick fog in front of her face, but she couldn’t feel the cold at all. Sometimes she missed it; she always associated the freezing cold of the early morning with the times she would camp outside with her dad, waiting to see the planets in the night sky with his telescope and drinking hot cocoa. They’d started doing it during the summer holidays after her mother had passed away, and stopped once she started high school and declared herself too old to do it.

One time in her sophomore year she’d gone down into the kitchen for a glass of water and seen him outside on his own, face turned up to the night sky. She’d wanted to go out and join him, but her stubborn adolescence had frozen her hand before it could reach for the patio door handle, and she had just stood there, watching him for a long moment, before turning and retreating to the warmth of her bedroom.

Laura clocked her tenth lap around the field and checked her watch. Breakfast would be winding down now, there was already a slight trickle of soldiers coming out of the cafeteria. She cycled her right arm, the muscle around her shoulder blade was aching slightly - she must have slept weirdly.

She made her way to the cafeteria and opened the door into-

Danny. Because apparently she was stuck in some alternate high school universe whenever it came to the Sergeant. Danny scowled at her and refused to show how much the collision had hurt, even though a red mark was already forming on her arm.

“I’m so, so sorry Sergeant Lawrence, I didn’t mean to-”

“Move, boot,” Danny growled. Laura stepped aside and Danny stalked past her, her arms swinging in a way that bordered somewhere between intimidating and comical. Laura shook her head as she continued into the cafeteria, grabbing her specially made breakfast from the front and taking a seat at one of the empty tables, making sure she was as far away as possible from the stragglers.

“Morning, L!” LaFontaine greeted her sunnily as they entered from the other doors, and Laura’s shoulders tensed for a moment before she forced them to relax.

( _Don’t blow your cover_ , echoed in her head, except for some reason it was in Carmilla’s voice.)

“Hi LaFontaine.”

They took a seat opposite her, drinking a green liquid out of a water bottle. “How’s your training going? I saw you do some really awesome jumps last night.”

Laura stiffened for a split second. Of course LaF had seen the footage of her training, but this was the first time that it had come up.

LaFontaine must have noticed her reaction, because they explained quickly, “I know it’s kind of 1984 that I watch your sessions, but you’re my PhD topic, so I have to study you...” They grimaced. “And that sounds like you’re my lab subject, which I guess sort of- but I totally didn’t mean it that way. Promise.”

Laura smiled, but it was weak. “It’s okay.”

LaFontaine gave them an encouraging smile and Laura tried to calm the twisting in her stomach with a mouthful of egg and bacon.

LaFontaine took another long swig of their drink and Laura eyed the deep green of the liquid and LaF noticed her attention, explaining, “It’s chlorophyll.”

Laura raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that the stuff in plants?”

“Yeah, it’s- I-” LaF gestured to themselves vaguely as they searched for words. Eventually, they said, “It’s meant to be good for you.” They offered the bottle forward. “Do you want some?”

Laura’s eyes went from LaFontaine’s eager grin, down to the sloshing green liquid, and back up to their face. “No, I’m good.”

LaFontaine shrugged and happily took another long drink of their chlorophyll. Laura couldn’t help but smile at LaFontaine; the PhD student had a nonchalant way about them that reminded Laura of why her dad had taken to them so quickly.

Her dad...

Carmilla hadn’t mentioned anything about how LaFontaine fit into the whole ‘her dad being imprisoned’ thing and Laura hadn’t asked, she’d been too shocked by the whole thing. But they had to have known, they were his student, there was no way they hadn’t.

Laura’s expression hardened and LaFontaine looked like they were about to say something, except that was when Perry sat down with her tray and greeted them.

Laura excused herself, citing training, and took her still half-full plate to the conveyer belt and dumped it there, forcing herself to ignore the way her hands were shaking.

\---

Carmilla opened the door to the gymnasium and a punching bag came flying, slamming against the wall next to her.

Carmilla eyed the punching bag as it slumped down to the floor, before looking over at the heavily panting girl in the middle of the room. Laura looked up at her and for a moment Carmilla was held in place by the dark look in her eyes. Then, the look crumbled and Laura grimaced.

“Sorry.”

“That’s what the storage room’s for, cupcake.” Carmilla went over to the storage room, flicking on the light. They’d gotten a new supply of punching bags after Laura had broken the first one, and lucky too. With the way she was going at it, Carmilla had a feeling that they would be going through a few of them today.

Carmilla hooked up the new punching bag and steadied it with both hands. Laura looked from the bag to Carmilla, her eyes tinged with shame. For a moment it seemed that Carmilla was going to ask something, but instead she patted the bag. “Let’s practice your kicks, super. And try to work on control over power.”

Laura’s face twisted with insult. “What’s wrong with my kicks?”

“Just because you have super strength doesn’t mean you have to have terrible technique.”

“I do _not_ have terrible technique.”

“Oh I think you do.”

Laura’s face screwed up in frustration and she exclaimed, “ _You_ have terrible technique!”

“And you have brilliant comebacks. Now,” Carmilla patted the bag again, “kick the bag.”

Laura rolled her eyes and turned her focus to the punching bag. She arranged her feet and steadied her breathing. _Control over power._

She kicked.

\---

After a long day of Carmilla criticising Laura’s form, they were walking back towards the cabins together.

“Where’s your room?” Laura asked.

“Why?” Carmilla smirked. “Planning on visiting me later, sweetheart?”

Laura blushed but before she could reply a loud and long siren rang out through the base. Carmilla’s eyes grew and before Laura could ask what was happening, Carmilla grabbed her hand and was pulling her along as she sprinted through the base, away from the cabins.

She pulled them behind one of the smaller buildings, a building that Laura hadn’t been in before, and practically shoved Laura towards the ground. Of course Laura didn’t come close to falling, but she took the cue and ducked down, hissing, “What the hell, Carm?”

Carmilla’s eyes flashed for a moment at the nickname but her attention was back around the corner a split second later, scanning the base, which was eerily still apart from the blaring alarm. Laura moved to get a better look but Carmilla’s hand pressed against her chest, holding her back.

Then, she whipped around to Laura. “We need to go.”

“What do you-?”

There was an explosion, rocking the ground, and Laura had to grab onto the wall to steady herself. This time Carmilla couldn’t stop her from looking, and she saw that the building that had exploded was the hospital. Her eyes widened.

“NOW!” Carmilla demanded.

Laura obeyed wordlessly, following Carmilla quickly and low to the ground but her eyes never straying from the hospital blaze. Then, she heard it. Screams, gunfire, yelling. It sounded close and far away all at the same time, the shouts of battle and hail of bullets tearing through the place that may not have been home - but had been somewhat of a sanctuary in the past few weeks.

Carmilla led them through the narrow paths between buildings, in a complex pattern that somehow kept them far enough from the battle. The closest they came was a moment when they passed by a soldier - one of their soldiers - slumped against a wall, dead.

Laura ripped her hand from Carmilla’s. “We can’t go. We have to stay and fight.”

“Haven’t you been listening, there are no heroes here. No good guys. Just people hell bent on creating an army of you. You want to be the hero? Don’t get yourself captured.”

“Who said anything about getting captured?” Laura grabbed the Desert Eagle handgun that had fallen to the floor next to the soldier, and the ballistic shield - a long rectangular shield that would stop most bullets and had a small strip cut out to look through. It also had a holster for the gun, which she tucked in and clipped closed. It was hefty, but it would work. “I know you don’t believe it, but there are innocent people here too. There are soldiers who have no idea what they’re caught up in and I’m not going to let them die because of me.”

“Laura, wait-”

Laura charged towards the sound of gunfire.

A whole range of voices floated around Laura’s head as she ran. Carmilla’s telling her she was an idiot and to get back, Sergeant Lawrence’s saying she’d just be a liability because she was just some dumb civilian, her own calling her an idiot for charging headfirst into combat, her dad telling her to be safe.

The last one gave her pause. Her pace slowed and she looked around her, taking in her environment, before readying herself and leaping up onto the tallest building next to her. This time her jump was more controlled, more powerful as it came from her whole body. She landed with both feet firmly - just like how Carmilla had taught her. Her victory was short-lived though, the new vantage point let her see most of the base, which had turned into a war zone.

There were fires blazing, the constant deafening chatter of gunfire, and commands being relayed in bellows. Laura spotted a group dressed in black - for a moment she thought of the infiltrators on the mission, but that thought pushed from her mind, black was a popular colour for spec ops missions - were headed towards an alley where two of the base soldiers were backed into a corner.

Well, maybe she should even the odds.

Laura leapt to the next building over, careful to keep her feet light as she did, and moved up behind the group. Just as they were about to round the corner, Laura dropped down onto the ground.

This time, she couldn’t stay as quiet, but it didn't matter because as the two at the front of the group were confronted with the soldiers in the alleyway, the two in the rear spun around to stare at her with wide eyes.

“Sorry for dropping in on you like this,” Laura shielded herself from the one on the left as she thrust the heel of her palm into the nose of the guy on the right, making him crumple, “super rude of me, I know.”

She turned her attention to the other man, who was lunging towards her, and lifted up the shield high enough that she could stomp his foot, breaking the delicate bones at the top of it. “Next time, I'll call ahead.” He grunted and doubled over, and Laura thrust her elbow into the backside of his head, sending him to the ground.

She looked up, and at the other end of the alley were the two soldiers, who had dispatched the other two. “You guys good?”

They nodded at her, and she was about to say something else when she recognised a voice in the distance yelling to push forward. She tightened the grip on her shield and ran towards it, making sure to stay aware of her environment while still pinpointing where the order had come from.

Laura rounded the corner and faltered.

If she had thought she was in a war zone before, she had no idea what to call this.

In the wreck that had once been the hospital were a team of the black uniformed attackers, most of them were occupied with fighting off the line of base soldiers opposite, who were dressed in an assortment of PT uniforms and casual wear, clearly caught off guard by the attack. The only reason that the base soldiers had the advantage was that the invaders weren’t fighting hard, they seemed to be... defending?

Laura scanned the hospital closer, some of them were searching the rubble. But why-?

The lab. The lab was in the hospital, along with all the information about her, including her tests and samples. It only confirmed what Carmilla had said earlier - _they were after her._

She scanned the area around her, where she was standing if she tried to go out into the battle she’d wind up caught in the crossfire, so that was out. There weren’t any buildings to drop down close enough to the old hospital site. The only option she could piece together was going around from behind and trying to keep behind the rubble as much as possible, hoping that the base soldiers didn’t fire at her.

 _Awesome_ , she thought sarcastically.

She sprinted around the buildings, going the long way and being careful to keep out of sight from the main area. She ran into one of the soldiers looking after the perimeter and stuck her arm out as she ran past him, clocking him across the neck and knocking him down and out. Running this fast was usually freeing, but the air was laden with combat, and it sat on her shoulders and chest in a way that felt less like a prison and more like a purpose.

She’d reached the perfect spot behind and let herself have a moment of steadying as she watched the soldiers in black working and calculated the best approach. _Control over power._

She sprinted through the gap in the buildings, hurtling towards the nearest pile of rubble as quickly as she could, putting her a few metres from the closest soldier who was busy rooting through what was left of the hospital.

Laura swung herself out from the cement she’d ducked behind, causing the soldier to start visibly and jump back.

She gave him a small wave and then punched him square in the nose, making him fall to the ground. The grunt he made as he hit the ground attracted the attention of the other soldier who was searching the wreckage and she pulled her gun out, shooting him in the right arm before he could fully raise his gun, causing it to fall uselessly by his side.

The gunshot was ridiculously loud and alerted the rest of the troops to her presence. She tracked their positions quickly - three, five, seven - before launching into action.

Sergeant Lawrence frowned as she realised that there weren’t being fired at anymore. She could still hear gunfire and see the muzzle flashes on the other side but none of it was coming their way. She peered through her scope and it looked like they were firing at each other but that was-

“Don’t fire, it’s me!”

_What the fuck?_

Laura Hollis stepped into sight from behind cover, hands up. She scanned the line opposite, hoping that they’d recognise her.

A gunshot went off, the bullet zooming towards her and her breath stopped for a minute until she realised that it had found its mark - the soldier she’d shot in the right arm had stumbled forward and tried to take a shot at her with his left. She watched him drop to the ground, a bullet between his eyes.

She gulped. “Thanks!”

“Move out of the goddamn way!” Sergeant Lawrence bellowed back.

Laura smiled; she had been right in recognising her voice, she knew it.

The sound of a fresh round of bullets came from her left, probably half a kilometre away, and Laura snapped back to attention, sprinting towards it, the adrenaline spiking through her body again. She used a concrete block to spring herself up as she ran, landing on the roof of the bunks, getting a better look at the area where the gunfire was coming from.

A glance behind her confirmed that the base soldiers were following her, except on the ground and way slower.

As suddenly as the gunfire had started it had stopped. Laura stepped up to the edge of the roof and surveyed the area thoroughly. Something was wrong. It had been too abrupt.

“Laur-!”

Laura’s head whipped to the far corner, the sound had come from behind a pile of crates that Laura was sure wasn’t there before the attack. On instinct, she ducked down - making herself a smaller target - just in time for a sniper bullet to zip past her and clip her shoulder. She cried out, and quickly checked her shoulder. It looked like just a graze, thankfully, and she steeled herself. She backed up towards the centre of the roof before running full pace towards the edge and leaping off it, turning her body into missile, led by the ballistic shield. She felt a few rounds hit the shield, but none made it through and she tucked into a roll to land on the ground, bringing it back up to cover herself from the direction that the bullets came from.

She pushed forward towards the crates where the call had come from, making sure to keep her body compact behind the shield and the rest of her against the wall. She peered through the view slot. She saw a flash of short red hair, another panicked yell of her name, and suddenly she didn’t care so much about the onslaught of bullets.

She started to sprint, arms pumping as she vaulted over the crates and spotted the soldiers dressed in black loading LaFontaine into a jeep at gunpoint before it took off. She continued to run, dodging from side to side as the soldiers in the jeep shot at her through the open back window. She couldn’t fire at them - she couldn’t risk hitting LaFontaine. The dodging slowed her down as the truck accelerated ahead, smashing through the locked fence and disappearing into the night.

Laura’s steps slowed as she stared at the fading taillights of the jeep - until a hail of gunfire from behind reminded her that they hadn’t taken all the soldiers with them. She swung the shield around, raising the gun and shooting back blindly until the ammunition round was spent and she threw it to the side frustratedly.

Her heart was pounding hard, harder than it ever had, as some unnamed new and horrible emotion ripped through her. It was impossible to pull apart what the emotion contained, but it coiled around Laura, planting roots in the marrow of her bones and blooming in her muscles. She spotted the muzzle fire through the viewing slot and started to run - no, not run, _charge_ \- not caring that the shield was no longer protecting her legs. She skidded around the corner of the crates, grabbing onto the top of one of the crates with her right hand while her left held the shield, and her legs went boot first into the face of the soldier.

They both hit the ground at the same time, Laura scrambling back onto her feet while he stayed unmoving on the ground. She was about to throw herself at the next soldier when the Sergeant and her soldiers reached the area and the bullets started flying in a different direction now, at each other.

Except, the soldiers were on the retreat. Which wasn’t surprising, given that they’d already retrieved LaFontaine, but there was something about the way that they were hurriedly clearing the area that Laura couldn’t put her finger on. Then she heard it - a rapid beeping. She turned to the soldier she’d knocked out and nudged him with her foot, causing his jacket to fall open and...

Laura’s eyes widened. Oh _shit_.

She looked up at the advancing line of base soldiers, led by Sergeant Lawrence, who was only a few metres away now and was regarding her with a suspicious expression. She had to get them out of here, she had to-

An explosion rocked the whole area, sending Laura flying in one direction and Danny and the base troops in the other.

A high-pitched screech rang through Laura’s head as she struggled to get to her feet. The explosion felt more like a shockwave than a fire, and when Laura managed to lift her head she saw that there was no fire. There were no burns on her, nothing caught alight - everything was just... tilted. The sound of the base started to return to her, at first in a dull, quiet way and then all at once, making her head spin.

A car skidded to a stop behind her and Carmilla stuck her head out of the window. She said something, but Laura was still trying to recognise sounds properly and she didn’t catch it, gripping onto the ground as she tried to find her equilibrium again.

Laura tried to look for Danny, but where the base soldiers had once stood was empty, a few metres away were a mess of limbs and bodies - none of them distinguishable as the Sergeant.

Carmilla’s patience had clearly been exhausted, as she got out of the car, grabbed Laura by the elbow and hefted her into the backseat of the car. She jumped back into the driver’s seat and slammed the accelerator so hard that the wheels spun with a squeal before the car leaped forward.

Laura held onto the front seats, leaning forward. (She hadn’t felt this dizzy since she’d gotten drunk off her dad’s scotch at her 21st party.) “We can’t leave!” Her voice sounded muffled, far away, and it made her feel even dizzier.

Carmilla glanced at Laura through the rear view mirror. “They’re finished here.” Carmilla’s voice had started to come into focus, and Laura was suddenly wishing that it hadn’t. “You know as well as I do, they got what they wanted.”

“You saw...” Laura trailed off, the image of LaFontaine’s terrified face smeared in black soot flashed before her eyes again. She wanted to throw up. “Why didn’t you stop them?”

Carmilla floored the accelerator, throwing Laura back into her seat as they tore out of the base through the same gates as the jeep that had taken LaF. “I had to get you, super.”

Guilt suddenly cut through everything, like a sobering blast of ice straight to her core. Her fingers dug into the leather of the sedan seats - this was all her fault.

“This isn’t your fault.”

Laura glanced up at the rear view mirror, meeting Carmilla’s eyes. Where others might have followed up the statement with a reassuring speech, Carmilla just looked back forward to the road they were speeding down. “Put your seatbelt on. I’m not scraping super soldier off the highway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	6. Chapter 6

Laura jerked awake. Sun, hot, drool, beeping.

She wiped at her mouth, and then spotted the puddle that she’d left on the seatbelt and grimaced. She rubbed her eyes with her hands, blinking away the uncomfortable feeling of waking up in the direct rays of the sun. Then she realised that the car was stopped on the side of the road, all around them was an ochre desert, and Carmilla wasn’t in the car anymore.

Instead, the driver’s side door was open and the car was letting out a constant tone in protest at the open door. Laura frowned.

“... _please_ , I swear I didn’t mean to-”

“I’m not inclined to believe you, Red.”

Laura turned around and realised that the boot was open, and that Carmilla’s voice, as well as someone else’s, was coming from there. Her hand scrabbled at the shiny silver strip along the inside of the door, searching for the handle, before finally finding it - at the front of the strip and designed to blend in with the look of the door. She opened the door and tried to exit the car, but the seat belt held her back with a rough click, and she groaned and reached behind her to undo the seat belt.

( _It’s too early in the morning for this._ )

She stepped out of the car and was immediately hit with what felt like a _wall_ of heat. Dry and thick against her skin, she scowled and rounded the corner to see Carmilla threatening a terrified looking Perry who was lying down in the boot of the car.

“Did you kidnap Perry?” Laura asked, her voice croaky from lack of use.

“Why the hell would I kidnap a lab monkey?” Carmilla fired back, looking as annoyed by the whole situation as Laura felt worn down by the heat.

Perry seemed relieved by Laura’s appearance, as if she could do something to save her from the wrath of the agent. “The base was under attack. I was near the car pool and I knew that these cars were bullet proof, so I hid in the trunk.” Perry levelled a glare at Carmilla (which was impressive, given she was lying down in the trunk of a car). “I didn’t realise that it would be _stolen_.”

“I don’t believe her,” Carmilla growled.

“You think Perry’s a double agent,” Laura stated disbelievingly.

“It’s always the annoying ones.”

Laura rolled her eyes. “I know Perry, she and LaFontaine have been friends for years. If they wanted LaFontaine they could have gone through her. Plus, they would have had a mole in the lab. No need to infiltrate the base.”

“Unless they’re protecting her cover,” Carmilla fired back, not taking her eyes off Perry.

Laura put herself between the two, not liking the dangerous edge to Carmilla’s glare. “Can you take it down like a million notches?” Carmilla finally lifted her eyes, giving up trying to glare at the redhead through Laura’s abdomen, and looking Laura in the eyes. Laura continued, “It’s hot. We’re on the run. And we need to get LaFontaine back.”

“Get LaFontaine back from where?” Perry asked, her voice gaining half an octave in worry. After half a minute of silence, Perry piped up again, her voice even higher, “Where is LaFontaine?”

Carmilla rolled her eyes and took a few paces back. “Great. You got the muppet worked up, you can calm her down.”

Laura turned to Perry, who looked absolutely terrified. “So, the people who attacked the base? They sort of... took LaF.”

“They... they....” Perry looked broken by the idea, a record skipping in place, until something changed - something hardened. She pulled herself out of the boot and stood up, albeit with a slight stumble as she stood for the first time in hours. “We have to get them back.”

“That’s the plan.”

“We’re not doing that.”

Laura and Carmilla said at the same time. They turned to each other, each of them incredulous at the other.

“What do you mean we aren’t doing that?” Laura demanded.

“What made you think we were?” Carmilla asked. “I’m getting you to a safe house and _you_ ,” she gestured at Perry, “to the nearest bus station. And that’s only so she,” she jabbed her finger at Laura, “won’t complain about it.”

“We have to rescue LaFontaine!” Perry exclaimed shrilly, taking several steps towards Carmilla, bringing them nose to nose.

Carmilla’s expression darkened and something about her got suddenly far more threatening as she leaned forward, almost touching Perry but not quite. “We don’t _have_ to do anything. The only reason you are still alive is my good graces, and if you think I’m going to let you lead the super soldier directly to the vultures who are desperate to pick her apart just so they can make a pile of their own, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“ _Carmilla_ ,” Laura hissed, grabbing the agent by the elbow and dragging her away from the petrified lab assistant. “What the hell?”

“Do you even understand what’s at risk here?”

“Of course I do!” Laura fought back. “Do you?”

Carmilla’s fury evaporated with her surprise at Laura’s comeback.

“Why do you think they took LaFontaine?” Laura continued, “They’re using them to try and figure out this whole serum thing. I get that you’re all ‘human life is an acceptable cost’ and whatever, but even you have to admit that we have to do this.”

Carmilla almost looked... _hurt_. “Is that how you see me?”

Before Laura could reply, Carmilla’s expression dissipated, covered by a hard mask. “Just because I’m not taking you or the lab monkey doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to go. But...” Carmilla’s eyes flitted over to the side as she muttered, “taking you is too much to risk.”

“You know I can put you on your ass, right?”

“That’s not...” Carmilla made a sound of distaste in the back of her throat and ran her hand through her hair. “You _can’t_ , but that’s not the point.”

“Trust me.” Laura maintained eye contact with Carmilla steadily, willing her to listen. “I can handle myself.”

“Laura,” her name fell from Carmilla’s lips pleadingly, “I have orders.”

Laura stopped. She had never really thought about the reason Carmilla did things, or considered that Carmilla might still be getting orders from a higher up. She had thought that when they’d left the base they’d left that behind, but it suddenly occurred to her that maybe the reason Carmilla had been so desperate to leave wasn’t because she didn’t care about the soldiers - but because she’d had to. That she was trapped by rules that she’d never let Laura see.

The revelation threw her, to say the least. But, she would deal with that later - right now there were more important things happening.

“Carm, please,” Laura begged, “we don’t know how much time we have.” When Carmilla didn’t seem moved by that, Laura added, “I can’t let other people fight for me. If you died...” Laura shook her head, refocusing herself. “I’m not running away just because I’m the one they want. I won’t hide while other people fight my battles. With or without the serum, I’m not that person.”

Carmilla sighed deeply. “You are such a pain in my ass.” Then she walked back over to the car, getting into the driver’s seat.

Perry looked from Carmilla to Laura, her eyes questioning.

“Come on!” Carmilla called out impatiently. “Frankenstein’s not gonna save themselves!”

Perry scrambled to get into the back seat, snapping her seatbelt and sitting up straight with her hands perfectly folded in her lap by the time Laura got to the passenger seat and got in. Carmilla twisted to stare at Perry dangerously, pointing at her. “This doesn’t mean I trust you. If I even get the hint that something’s not right, I’m leaving you on the side of the road for the buzzards.”

Perry nodded emphatically. Carmilla held her glare for another moment before turning back around and starting the car.

“Thank you,” Laura said quietly.

Carmilla didn’t say anything, in fact if Laura hadn’t caught her glancing at her out of the corner of her eye Laura would have assumed that she hadn’t heard her. She waited for more of a response, but when it didn’t come she settled into her seat further and stared out the window at the scenery as it passed by.

\---

“And can I also get an apple pie?”

Carmilla grunted and added it to their already incredibly long order, rolling her eyes as it was read back to her. Three-quarters of the order was Laura’s, whose appetite was back something fierce after skipping dinner last night.

They had to wait in the bay for ten minutes for their meal, and when it finally came out the person was juggling four full bags of food, and carefully handed them over to Carmilla through the window without spilling them.

They wished them a good day as they walked back towards the fast food restaurant and Carmilla grunted in response. She handed the bags over to Laura to organise as she pulled out of the bay, over to the parking lot in front of the neighbouring strip mall. She started to sip on her coffee and her lip curled at the taste but she continued to drink it as Laura started eating eagerly.

Halfway through her meals Laura started to cycle her right arm again, her shoulder was still bugging her and sleeping in the car hadn’t helped.

Carmilla watched her with sharp eyes. “How’s your shoulder?”

She was talking about the bullet graze, which had already healed to a tiny puckered scar that wasn’t noticeable unless you knew where to look. “Oh,” Laura touched the scar subconsciously, “it’s not that. I’ve just had a sore shoulder the past day or so.”

The look in Carmilla’s eyes grew sharper. “Where? When did it start?”

Laura shrugged and swivelled in her seat, using the hand that wasn’t holding a burger to point to side of her shoulder blade. “The morning after we did Acheron’s Path.”

Suddenly, Carmilla put her fries down on the car dashboard. “Get out.”

Laura frowned. “What?”

“Get the fuck out, now.”

Laura looked back at Perry, whose eyes were darting between the two.

“ _Now_ ,” Carmilla ordered. She hopped out of the car before leaning back in to say to Perry, “And you stay in the car.” Perry nodded back, eyes still darting.

Laura put her burger down - albeit with more care than Carmilla - and got out of the car. Carmilla grabbed her by the wrist and roughly dragged her towards the strip mall.

“Where are we going?”

Carmilla didn’t answer, just kept dragging her towards the liquor store. She grabbed a bottle of vodka off the shelf smoothly, slipping it in next to her body out of sight of the clerk at the front register and the cameras in each ceiling corner. She kept pulling Laura to the back, towards the grimy ‘Toilet’ sign. It was a single dingy cubicle, the size of a small room, but it felt oversized in its emptiness with the toilet crammed in the corner and sink in the opposite one. While it didn’t smell like sewage, it stank so badly of disinfectant that Laura gagged. Carmilla locked the door behind them and stared at Laura.

“Turn around. Take your shirt off.”

“Um...”

“Do it.”

Laura had no idea why Carmilla was being so weird, but she obeyed. It was better than being yelled at. She shivered - which was less about the temperature and more about the eerie way that noise echoed off the high ceiling and fully tiled walls. She felt like the sound of her breathing had multiplied ten times over and she wondered if Carmilla could hear it as she stepped in close behind her. She hoped she couldn’t.

There was a splashing sound behind her and she peered over her shoulder to see Carmilla pouring the vodka over her hands. And her combat knife. Laura turned back to the wall in front of her, nerves buzzing uncomfortably. She didn’t know what was happening, but she definitely did not like it.

She exclaimed as a cold liquid poured over her right shoulder. (Okay, she really, _really_ didn’t like this.) The smell of vodka was almost suffocating; it had combined with the disinfectant smell and created a thick, chemical stench that only made Laura’s nerves worse.

“Carm, what-?”

“Be quiet, don’t move. You have a tracker under your skin, I have to get it. Hold onto the sink.”

“You have to...?” Laura’s blood went cold. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. (Shit she thought she’d just been making things up in her head, but Carmilla was actually going to... _Fuck_.)

Laura felt Carmilla’s fingers against her skin, searching for the thing that wasn’t meant to be there. When she came across it, Laura could feel it too. It was small, almost like a muscle knot, but different. Harder. Carmilla’s blade replaced her fingers and a fraction of a moment later, she started to cut. Laura’s grip on the edge of the porcelain sink tightened and she prayed for the strength to not rip the sink off the wall and slam it into Carmilla’s head. Finally, Carmilla was done and the cutting stopped.

“This is going to hurt.”

Because it had been a walk in the park so far.

Carmilla slipped the point of her knife into the wound ( _don’t hit her, don’t hit her, don’t hit her_ ) and fished the tracker out. Laura fell forward more onto the sink, so that her forearms were resting wholly along the edges. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, but she still had to remind herself not to swing around and punch the agent in the jaw.

There was a soft plink as something dropped onto the recess next to the taps that was meant for soap. Laura glanced up and saw the tracker, a tiny nub of a thing, smeared dark red and staring at her.

 _Prick_.

“I’m going to sew you up now.”

Laura cast a look behind her where Carmilla was taking a small sewing kit out of a pocket on her utility belt that sat over her cut offs. “How many things have you got in there?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Carmilla asked, but the flirting was an automatic response - free of the usual smirk she’d pair it with - as she set to work sewing the cut closed. Laura’s fingers curled tight around the sink, gripping and releasing and gripping again, until Carmilla was done. Finally, she stepped back and let Laura free. Laura paced to the other end of the bathroom before putting her shirt back on and very carefully testing out the limits of the stitching.

Surprisingly, moving her right arm was easier now, she could feel the difference with the tracker gone. It was odd.

Laura turned back to Carmilla, who was watching Laura as if unsure about how she’d react to the whole surgery in a liquor store bathroom thing. Instead of dealing with how she felt about that (it wouldn’t have been a very _productive_ conversation) she nodded at the tracker. “What are we going to do about that?”

Carmilla smirked and popped a piece of gum into her mouth. She offered Laura the vodka bottle and Laura’s nose scrunched up. She already smelled like she’d had a messy night out, she didn’t want to taste like it too. Carmilla shrugged and tipped the rest of the bottle down the sink and tucked the empty bottle behind the bin.

She washed her hands in the sink, streaks of red joining the water as it swirled around the drain and as Laura watched it she realised that it was her blood. That was her blood, literally on Carmilla’s hands. She expected to be a lot more disgusted or horrified, but as it was she was just jealous that Carmilla could wash the vodka off herself easily.

“Let’s go.”

Without any further explanation, Carmilla led Laura out of the bathroom, past the clerk who was smirking at them as if they’d just had sex in there, and back towards the car. On their way there, Carmilla grabbed the piece of gum out of her mouth, wrapped it around the tracker, and knelt down next to a car. To anyone else it looked like she was tying her shoe, but Laura saw her place the piece of gum on the bottom of the car’s body. Then she stood and continued to walk back to their car with a completely casual demeanour.

Laura was equal parts impressed and curious as she followed her back to the car. If Carmilla was this good at acting, then what else was she hiding? (Laura wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to that.)

Perry gave them both questioning looks as they entered the car, but Carmilla didn’t seem at all interested in explaining herself and honestly Laura didn’t even know where to start so she just left it.

Carmilla started the car and they pulled out of the parking lot. Laura stared at the half-eaten burger she’d left and considered whether she still had the appetite for it.

Carmilla rolled down all the windows and when Laura looked over at her curiously Carmilla explained offhandedly, “You smell like the floor of a bar.”

Laura sunk down in her seat and took a bite of her burger as she glared out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	7. Chapter 7

The black sedan sped down the highway, causing a sunbaking lizard to skitter off the asphalt, away from the roar of the engine. Inside the car, Laura had her arm resting on the window, bent at the elbow, and hand tucked under her chin. She and Perry had both given up on asking Carmilla where they were going; the most they’d gotten out of her was ‘somewhere safe’. Any further questions were greeted with the radio volume being turned up louder.

The radio that wasn’t tuned to any station, so it was just spitting out a mess of static.

Opting for silence over static, the car ride had passed at a dull pace, punctuated only by stopping at gas stations and the changing landscape, which had shifted from desert ochre to farmland green.

Laura was counting farm animals to pass the time when she caught the sound of soft sniffling and frowned, turning to look at Carmilla. It clearly wasn’t Carmilla crying, but the agent had heard it too judging from the furrowed brow. Carmilla’s eyes went to the rear view mirror and she sighed - quietly enough that Laura only just heard it.

Laura peered into the back seat and saw that Perry now had tears rolling steadily down her cheeks as she stared out the window.

Carmilla cleared her throat and looked at Laura out of the corner of her eye pointedly. Laura rolled her eyes - _of course_.

“Perry?” Laura asked gently. “Are you okay?”

Without looking away from the window, Perry replied in a thick voice, “I’m meant to take care of them.”

Laura and Carmilla shared another look, unsure of what she was talking about.

“When we were younger there was...” Perry cleared her throat with a tight cough. “We were at a convenience store. It was robbed.” Perry fell silent for a solid three minutes, and Laura wasn’t sure if Perry needed encouragement to continue or if she should leave her to go at her own pace.

“LaFontaine was shot,” Perry said quietly, only just loud enough to make it over the rumble of the car engine. “They were trying to get to me because I was scared.” Perry finally looked away from the window, her gaze falling squarely on Laura. “I have spent my whole life trying to repay them for that and the first time they needed me I wasn’t there. I was hiding in a boot,” she spat out angrily, “I listened to them and I hid. Like a coward.”

Carmilla slammed on the brakes of the car, skidding to a stop on the side of the road; the inertia flinging them all forward. Carmilla spun in her seat to stare at Perry. “You said you got into the car because you were near the car pool.”

Perry turned red, the emotion from before fading quite suddenly as she looked at Carmilla with a petrified expression.

Carmilla’s hand went to her door, grabbing the gun from the bottom compartment and aiming it between Perry’s eyes. “Truth. Now.”

“I-I-I-” was all that Perry could get out as she stared at the gun pointed at her, making her go cross-eyed.

Laura put a hand on the gun, lowering it slowly. As she did it she swore she could feel Carmilla growling next to her, but she continued to lower the gun anyway, muttering to Carmilla, “Cool it, okay?”

Carmilla let Laura lower the gun until it was no longer pointed at Perry, but with the way she was holding it Laura was sure that if she needed to it would re-aim at a moment’s notice.

“Perry?” Laura prompted the redhead gently.

Perry swallowed hard, closed her eyes and when she opened them again they were equal parts scared and resolute. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to get LaFontaine in trouble.”

Laura felt Carmilla tense beside her and she was ready to grab the gun again when Carmilla surprised her by stating, “They blew up the hospital.”

Perry nodded.

“But why-?” Laura started, but she didn’t need to finish the question - she knew.

It was to protect her, to protect the serum, to protect the world from it.

She felt a cold guilt build down her spine as she remembered the suspicious way she’d treated them.

“I should have stayed, but they said that everything would be fine, they said that they would meet me at the cars, they _said_...” Perry’s voice caught and she shook her head again, her shoulders so tense that they were practically around her ears. “I’m a coward,” she whispered between shuddering breaths.

Laura leaned through the gap between the chairs and took Perry’s hands in hers. She didn’t know what else to do, she was still trying to deal with her loaded guilt, so no words were coming to mind that could help Perry.

“You’re smart.”

Laura and Perry both turned to Carmilla, wearing matching shocked expressions at the agent speaking up. Meanwhile, Carmilla showed no outward sign that she’d even said anything. Half a minute later, with everyone’s attention on her, her eyes flicked to the rear-view mirror for a moment and she spoke again, “You’re an untrained civilian who has no combat skills. You’re not a coward. You’re smart.”

Laura couldn’t help but stare at the agent, the agent who was very purposefully not looking away from the road as she drove. In that moment, she felt all the small changes in the way she saw Carmilla come to a head, in one sudden rush of emotion that she couldn’t name. She could feel her expression change as she looked at her, her eyes softening and her heart shifting.

Carmilla glanced over at Laura with a scowl. “What?”

Laura sat back down in her seat properly, keeping a hand on Perry’s, but eyes not leaving Carmilla’s profile. “Nothing.”

“Thank you,” Perry replied, soft but full of meaning.

Carmilla scoffed and didn’t reply, her hand going to the volume knob and turning it up.

Laura tore her eyes from Carmilla’s face, giving Perry one last comforting smile and squeezing her hand.

\---

Dusk had started to fall by the time they turned down an unpaved driveway, the dirt and rocks from the path flicking up to bounce off the bottom of the car body. Carmilla barely slowed and the roar of the loose gravel made Laura grimace as she took in the farm that they’d just turned into, wondering what this place was and if it was another government facility. Carmilla still refused to tell them where they were, or what they were doing, but at this point the other two were just glad for a chance to get out of the car for longer than ten minutes.

It took fifteen minutes of driving to get to the end of the driveway, which looped out the front of a two-story white, wooden panelled house with blue window shutters and a wrap-around porch. Laura spotted a man sitting in an old rocking chair on the porch, and despite his seemingly relaxed position, she saw him tense at the appearance of the car. His hand twitched towards the table next to him where there was a sweating jug of iced tea, a glass, and propped up by the table... a long bow?

Carmilla stopped the car in front of the house and got out without any explanation to the others. She stood next to the car, arms resting on top of the roof. “You look like shit.”

The suspicious expression on the man’s face split into a huge smile as he hoisted himself to his feet and grabbed a cane that was resting against the wall, leaning on it heavily as he stepped towards the front of the porch. “ _Dude_ , what the hell? You nearly gave me a heart attack rolling up in a government car.”

Carmilla walked around the car, her arms up in a casual shrug. “Why do you think I used it?” She hopped up the two stairs to get onto the porch and gave him a warm hug.

He looked at the car suspiciously. “You got rid of all the trackers right?”

Carmilla smacked him on the back of the head and he winced, rubbing the spot with his hand.

“Do I look like an idiot to you, Wilson Kirsch? Honestly.”

“Sorry bro.” He eyed Laura and Perry, who were very carefully getting out of the car. “Who are the tag-alongs?”

Carmilla let out a long sound of disgust before ignoring his question and asking, “Where are the family?”

“SJ took them food shopping.” His eyes went from Perry and Laura, who were still standing by the car, back to Carmilla. “Come on, lemme show you what I did to the den.” Kirsch walked to the front door with Carmilla and when the other two didn’t follow he called over his shoulder, “You guys too. I need a second opinion, my wife thinks I should go with Black Drop blue but I’m thinking Sky Diver blue would be way better with, like, the furniture and stuff.”

Carmilla snorted. “Of course _you_ would want something as stupid as ‘Sky Diver blue.”

“Hey, don’t knock it til you see it Mills.” Kirsch held the door open for the women before walking in behind them, his cane punctuating each step of his left leg with a dull thud against the scratched up floorboards.

Carmilla glared at him, but it had no malice behind it. “Don’t call me that, _Bro_ dy.”

Kirsch groaned. “Come on bro, that’s not even my name.”

“Oh really? Brody, bro, is that not your name, bro?” Carmilla mocked him, dropping her voice an octave and putting on a stereotypical frat bro accent.

Laura snorted a laugh and quickly covered her mouth - she had definitely not been expecting that to be as loud as it was. In that one unfortunate sound, she’d managed to draw the attention of everyone present. Kirsch was giving her a lopsided smile that Laura recognised from all the times people had commented on her size and called her adorable. Perry looked caught between entertained and sympathetic. And Carmilla, oddly enough, looked embarrassed - though it was gone a moment later behind an eyeroll.

Perry broke the silence with a soft clearing of her throat and asked, “Would it be possible for me to take a shower?”

“Oh!” Kirsch exclaimed, as if that hadn’t occurred to him yet. “Yeah totally, dude. Let me show you where it is.” He pointed at Carmilla as he led Perry away. “When I get back I’m showing you Sky Diver blue.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m on the edge of my seat.”

He went off with Perry, leaving Carmilla and Laura together in utter awkwardness. Laura was still embarrassed about the snort, and she was confused about Carmilla’s apparent embarrassment. (If it had even been embarrassment - maybe she’d misread it?)

“Come on.” Carmilla cocked her head and Laura followed her, not bothering to ask where they were going because she knew Carmilla wouldn’t tell her. Her mind ran through the possibilities - communication room, weapons cache...

Carmilla led her through the kitchen, which had linoleum floors that were peeling up at the corners, opened the backdoor and stepped onto the back porch. The backdoor had a window with a lace curtain over it - clearly a relic from another time that had never been replaced. Laura resisted the urge to touch the curtain and joined Carmilla on the porch.

Instead of doing or saying anything, Carmilla just looked out and Laura followed her gaze to where the sun was sitting on the horizon, sending streaks of orange hues through the clouds.

“What was it like?” Carmilla asked without looking away from the sunset.

“What?”

“School. College. Work.”

Laura was about to ask what she meant - had Carmilla not done any of those things? Then, she realised that she probably shouldn’t ask and was trying to come up with a reply that wouldn’t anger the agent when the front door banged open loudly and the voice of a woman and two children exploded into the house.

Carmilla looked behind them and gone was the blank expression tinged with yearning - replaced with a wry smile as she went back into the house and greeted the rest of the Kirsch family. Laura cast one last glance at the sunset, wondering what Carmilla’s question meant, and what Laura’s answer would have been, before going inside and introducing herself.

\---

Laura nudged Carmilla’s shoulder with a bottle of beer and Carmilla accepted it, opening it with a hiss and throwing the cap at the mini basketball hoop that sat above the waste bin. It hit the backboard and plonked into the bin as Laura sat back down with her own fresh bottle.

Kirsch had his left leg up on a footstool and was massaging it as he laughed heartily. Perry had just told him about the footage she’d seen of Laura putting Carmilla on her back, and now Perry was caught between Kirsch begging for more details and Carmilla threatening her with a painful death.

Perry had relaxed markedly after Carmilla had taken her aside to explain that she had reached out to her contacts and would hear from them when they located LaFontaine. Perry still looked like she could use a holiday, but at least she didn’t seem to be constantly on the verge of tears.

Even Carmilla’s very specific description of what she’d do to her didn’t seem to faze her all that much. She just tightly commented that it was impolite to threaten people with disembowelment.

Kirsch grinned and raised his beer bottle to Perry. “You tell her, P.” Then, to Carmilla, “Why you gotta be so rude, dude?” He snickered to himself. “Rhyming.”

Carmilla glared at him and leaned over, slamming the bottom of her beer bottle down on top of Kirsch’s, causing the beer to fizz up rapidly to the top. Kirsch’s eyes widened and he quickly placed his mouth over it to stop the foam from spilling over.

When the beer had finally calmed back down he pulled the bottle out of his mouth and shot a look at Carmilla. “Dude, uncool.”

Carmilla blew a sarcastic kiss his way, sitting back and taking a sip on her beer.

Laura and Perry shared a look - it was disorienting to see Carmilla like this. She was relaxed in a way that she had never been around the base; her hair hung in loose, messy waves and her face didn’t hold the guarded tension that it usually did. Even her threats had less bite.

(Laura wondered if this was how Carmilla always was outside of work or if it was just with Kirsch. A smaller part of her wondered if Carmilla would ever act like this with her - and if the question Carmilla had asked earlier on had been the start of that. The smallest part, which she ignored completely, hoped that it was.)

Perry excused herself, it was nearing midnight and it had been a long trip, even the curious and entertaining show of Carmilla and Kirsch couldn’t keep her up any longer.

Kirsch went to grab his cane but Carmilla waved him off. “I’ll show her up. The grandma guest room?”

Kirsch smiled gratefully, relaxing back in his seat, his hands still working on the thigh muscle in his left leg. “Unless you want that one.”

Carmilla scoffed as she walked out of the kitchen, followed closely by Perry.

Kirsch’s eyes landed on Laura and he considered her. “So, super soldier huh?” Laura shifted uncomfortably and shrugged a nod. He scratched his jaw. “Totally could have used you in Budapest.”

\---

“Do you understand the dangers associated with the process, Sergeant?”

Danny had signed a telephone book thick contract to that effect, and she nodded. The nurse checked the straps on her wrists and ankles, before nodding to the doctor. Danny turned her eyes to the ceiling, staring up at the line of military personnel who were watching her from the fishbowl room upstairs.

( _She was doing the right thing. She was doing the right thing._ )

After Laura and Carmilla had revealed themselves as double agents, they needed a super soldier on their side - the right side. There was no telling when Laura would come back and attack again - the petite girl had already gotten the upper hand on them once, setting off that blast wave and escaping with their scientist. (The fact that Danny hadn’t seen it coming got under her skin more than she cared to admit.) So, Danny had wasted no time in offering herself up as a test subject for the new serum. The untested, possibly dangerous serum.

It hadn’t been a hard decision for Danny to make. When the Major had visited her in medical, Danny had barely been able to wait until she had finished speaking to agree to it.

The doctor hesitated, and then said, “See you on the other side, Sergeant.”

She closed the door of the contraption, sealing Sergeant Lawrence in what looked like a metal sarcophagus, with a small window in front of her face. Danny stared out of the window, through to the wall opposite and ignored the way that fear was roaring through her body.

On the observation deck, the Major watched as the doctor started the process, filling the capsule with a dark green gas so thick that eventually the Sergeant’s face was completely out of view.

Screams began to fill the room.

The Major turned towards the back of the room - out of sight of the window - and asked, “Is this normal?”

LaFontaine looked up, their eyes full of hate as the handcuffs chaining them to their seat clinked. “I don’t know. You didn’t let me do enough testing, I-”

The Major sent a look to one of the guards, and the guard pressed a button, sending an electric shock through the handcuffs and into their body. LaFontaine slumped in their seat, breathing hard as they tried to collect themselves, refusing to show any reaction to the guard or the Major. Uninterested, the Major returned her attention to the room below.

“What do we do Major?” the doctor asked.

The Major pressed the intercom button. “Keep going until it’s finished.”

The doctor and nurse shared a look but the doctor nodded and obeyed the order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	8. Chapter 8

Laura woke up to the sound of Carmilla talking quietly.

“Thanks J. I’ll wire it through.”

Laura stared up at the ceiling. Last night she and Carmilla had both insisted on the other taking the bed, and they had both ended up on the floor on either side of the empty bed. The bedroom belonged to Dem, Kirsch’s teenage daughter, and she’d managed to stick a poster of Zayn Malik on the ceiling. The walls were covered in similar pop culture posters - singers, actors, and a few people that Laura didn’t recognise. Laura had also noticed that the gender of the celebrities was a fairly even spread across the board.

Carmilla didn’t speak again and Laura figured that the phone call had ended. Who ‘J’ was and what was being wired through was a mystery to her, but she wondered if it had to do with LaFontaine.

“I know you’re awake.”

How Carmilla had driven for practically 24 hours straight and then still woken up before Laura stumped her, but so did most of the things the agent did.

“How did you sleep?” Laura asked, staring up at the smouldering Zayn Malik.

“Brilliantly,” Carmilla answered sarcastically from the other side of the bed.

“You should have taken the bed.”

Carmilla heaved a sigh - Laura could practically see her eye roll through the mattress - and got up. She stretched, her hands reaching towards the ceiling, making the singlet she was wearing ride all the way up to her ribs. Laura looked away, her face getting hot. She hadn’t seen what Carmilla was wearing last night before they’d slept, but the flimsy singlet and paper-thin shorts were just...

Laura looked down at the track pants she’d borrowed from Dem (because they were the same size, which had amused Carmilla greatly). They had cartoon cats on them and were decidedly unsexy.

Not that what Carmilla was wearing was sexy.

Well...

“I’m going to go take a shower!” Laura leapt to her feet, passing by Carmilla as quickly as possible without looking at the agent who was still stretching out her back.

Breakfast at the Kirsch household was wonderfully chaotic in a way that Laura had never experienced while growing up in her two-person household. SJ was preparing and soaking slices of bread that she would hand to Wilson to fry up into French toast. He’d then pass them over to Dem who would place berries, powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup over them. The finishing touch was Arty, their seven year old daughter, who would take the plate over to the intended person and grin at them broadly showing off her two missing front teeth as she handed it to them.

“Thank you, Artemis,” Carmilla thanked her in the most polite tone that Laura had ever heard her use.

“You’re welcome Aunty Milla,” she responded, with somehow perfect enunciation despite her missing teeth.

Perry and Laura shared a look with each other - the domesticity of the whole situation still threw both of them.

It took half an hour for everyone to get settled into breakfast; the adults gathered around the kitchen table while the girls were relegated to the far smaller pink Disney princess table that had been dragged in from the living room. Dem looked less than thrilled about the situation, but she didn’t say anything as she ate with her knobbly knees almost reaching her chin. (Laura remembered how her father would invite over groups of his friends and she would never hide her disdain for these tall, loud adults invading her house.)

Laura’s French toast was cold by the time everyone sat down to eat - she had refused to touch her food until everyone was sitting - but it was still good. Laura wasn’t sure if it was the recipe - SJ’s secret that even Kirsch didn’t know - or if it was the company. Being around families like this always filled her with a sense of longing; even at their most frenzied, she couldn’t help but adore the messy, boisterous way that they loved each other. She and her father had loved each other very much, but their love was smaller, quieter - woven into the times that Laura would bring him food when he’d get too busy with work, or how he would make sure to come home on time so they could eat dinner and watch movies together.

She swallowed hard as she focused on cutting her strawberry into pieces. She hadn’t thought of him since before they’d left the base. Even with all that time in the car, her thoughts had been focused on surviving and LaFontaine and...

She excused herself to go to the bathroom, not looking anyone in the eye as she did - not daring to.

She made it to the hallway before the tears that had sprung to her eyes started running down her face. She didn’t know why she was crying. Well, she did, but she didn’t know why _now_.

She couldn’t stop thinking about how her dad must have felt in the last weeks. Knowing when he’d written her that note that he was going to...

She pulled the card out of her back pocket. Carmilla had collected her meagre belongings from her bunk, something that she’d barely acknowledged as a favour when she’d thrown the bag at her after they were well out of sight of the base.

Laura turned the card over in her hands, running her fingers over the cardboard as her left hand went to her necklace pendant. The pendant was a magnifying glass - her father’s way of encouraging her investigative journalist streak, and apologising for his initial overprotective reaction to her telling him about it.

A streak of sunlight from the window behind her hit the glass in the pendant, casting a ray of light that fell on the card and revealed a glowing letter ‘c’. Laura frowned. She held the card up higher, turning her body so that more of the sun fell onto it, and peered through the magnifying glass. The back of the card lit up with a whole bunch of writing that looked like a scientific formula. Laura had no idea what it meant, but she could guess. He hadn’t just sent her the only batch of serum he’d ever create - he’d sent her the formula for it as well.

Laura swallowed hard.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Perry asked, and Laura looked up to see her climbing the stairs with a concerned expression on her face.

Laura dropped the necklace and immediately hid the card behind her back. “Yeah, sorry. I just needed... space.”

Perry gave a sympathetic smile. “Of course honey, if you need anything just let me know.”

Laura nodded and Perry retreated back down the stairs. When she was out of sight Laura brought the card back out and stared at the back of it. Without the glass, it was perfectly plain. Even running her fingers over it revealed no inconsistencies in the texture.

Laura swallowed again.

Part of her was flattered that her dad had this much faith in her, but seriously?

She tucked the card back into her pocket. She would deal with this later, after they found LaFontaine. Maybe the PhD student would know what to do with it.

Laura steadied herself and headed back downstairs, pushing back the implications of this and painting on a smile.

Once Laura got back downstairs she noticed that the air was different; the tension was palpable. The kids and Perry had moved to the lounge room and the TV was turned way up, while SJ was practically throwing the dirty dishes into the sink and Kirsch looked like a kicked puppy. Laura glanced over at Carmilla, who was staring down at the table with a fixed, almost guilty, expression. She really wanted to go join Perry, but she felt frozen in the doorway, as if moving would attract SJ’s bad mood.

The plates clattered loudly against each other in the sink, the only sound in an otherwise frozen kitchen.

“SJ...” Kirsch said pleadingly.

“I _told_ you, Wilson.” She turned on the taps all the way, the steam rising off the water as it pummelled the plates. She started to roughly clean the dishes. “You couldn’t bring that into the house. I told you, you-” SJ turned around and saw Laura standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Her expression changed immediately, now a strained smile as she exclaimed, “Oh! Laura! I didn’t know you were here, I’m sorry.”

Kirsch was looking at Laura desperately and Laura had no idea how to react so she said, “Oh, I... I’ve just... I’m going to-”

“Do you have a husband or boyfriend, Laura?”

Laura’s eyes dropped to Carmilla for a split second before she quickly cleared her throat and shook her head. “Um, no, I don’t really... That’s not my,” Laura gestured vaguely, “side of the fence?” Laura grimaced. “If you know what I mean...”

“People on the space station know what you mean,” Carmilla snarked.

Ignoring Carmilla completely, SJ continued, “Well, Laura, how would you feel if your girlfriend were to, oh I don’t know, promise never to bring her deadly weapons into your house because you have children. Of course, she couldn’t _stand_ to get rid of her bow and arrows so you let her teach your children how to use them so that they’re safe with them, and that’s _fine_ but you draw the line at guns. And yet, your girlfriend’s old _war buddy_ appears one day with two strangers in tow, which is also fine, but then your husband reveals that he’s been _hiding a weapons cache in the attic the whole time_.” SJ had obviously lost the train of her argument in the last few seconds, the anger taking over, but the message translated quite clearly.

SJ seemed to be waiting for a response and Laura looked at the other two with a startled expression. When they offered no help, she replied, “I... would be unhappy?”

“Unhappy,” SJ nodded. She turned her attention to Kirsch, gesturing wildly towards Laura. “Did you hear that? She would be unhappy.”

“I totally get that babe, but-”

“I don’t think you do, Wilson! What if one of the girls had gotten their hand on one of those things and God forbid hurt themselves with it?!”

“Babe, you know Dem would never go into the attic and Arty can’t even reach the stairs! Plus, none of them are loaded, the ammo is in a different-”

“Not the point!”

He held up his hands in surrender, but that didn’t seem to be enough to stop her anger.

“It’s irresponsible Wilson! I know that you used to be Mr Big Shot Spy, but that’s not who you are anymore.”

Kirsch grimaced, his eyes falling to the cane next to him. SJ seemed to catch the unintended result of her words as she followed his gaze and her expression softened as she gave a heavy sigh. She turned her attention to Carmilla, who looked about ready to let the ground swallow her up. “Can you just take them all out of my house please?”

Carmilla nodded with the most enthusiasm that Laura had ever seen her display. It was odd, seeing the agent intimidated like this, and only added to the different person Carmilla had turned into since entering the house.

SJ sighed again, this time louder, and turned off the taps. “Finish the dishes, do bathroom _and_ bedroom duty, and change the bulb on the porch.”

“And then we’re cool?” Kirsch asked hopefully.

“And then I _think_ about it,” SJ countered, but as she walked past him she dropped a kiss on the crown of his head.

When she’d left the kitchen Kirsch grinned smugly at the other two. “We’re totally cool.”

“I said I’ll think about it!” SJ yelled from the other room and Kirsch’s smugness turned into an abashed grimace.

\---

“I _knew_ you took this. The quartermaster gave me so much shit for it.” Carmilla ran her hands over what looked like an over-sized shotgun - the barrel was about as thick as an orange. Judging by Carmilla’s awed look though, it probably did something ridiculous like shoot rockets.

“I called forever dibs,” Kirsch shrugged, “forever dibs doesn’t stop when I retire.”

Carmilla scoffed at Kirsch’s response, turning to Laura, who was moving aside paint cans with dried paint drips down the side to get to the ammunition crate. “Audience verdict?”

Laura glanced up; the two of them had spent most of the time ignoring her while reminiscing, so it caught her off guard to have their attention on her. “Uh... I don’t know if it counts when it isn’t yours.”

Kirsch howled, while Carmilla whooped in victory.

“Hollis,” he exclaimed, “I thought we were bros!”

Laura blushed, knowing the ex-spy was playing it up, but still feeling kind of bad. She covered it with a casual shrug. “Bros tell bros the truth.”

Kirsch’s expression turned thoughtful as he acquiesced, “True.”

Carmilla shook her head, but her eyes were almost warm as they regarded Laura with something that might have been surprise. Laura didn’t know if she should be flattered or insulted.

“Oh hey, dude!” Kirsch leaned forward from his spot sitting on a box to snatch something out of the weapons trunk. He held two red bandanas aloft with a triumphant look. “Budapest!”

Carmilla rolled her eyes and Laura squinted at the bandanas. “Are they like spy bandanas or something?”

“Nah dude,” Kirsch wrapped one around his forehead and secured it with a knot, “just super cool.” He grinned at Laura, the bright red sash looking ridiculous in the context of the attic. Laura cast the other bandana in his hand a sceptic look; she couldn’t picture Carmilla wearing it at all.

“You’re so embarrassing,” Carmilla groaned as she started to pack away all the weapons they’d be taking, having finished nostalgic weapons bonding with Kirsch.

Kirsch shot her a charming, lopsided smile and held out the other bandana. “Come on, for old time’s sake?”

“I would rather be thrown out of a helicopter.”

A fond look crossed Kirsch’s face. “Hey, remember that time we got thrown out of a helicopter?”

By the time they got all the gear down to the car, Carmilla was wearing the headband. Neither Laura nor Carmilla knew how Kirsch had managed it - but there she was looking like a crankier, smaller, female version of Rambo and even Perry couldn’t contain her amusement.

“Aunty Milla, that's so cool!” Arty stared at the bandana in awe.

“Well, merry Christmas, kid.” Carmilla took it off her head and put it onto Arty’s. It slipped down so it was half covering her eyes, but Arty didn’t seem to mind she just grinned wide and stuck her tongue in place of the two missing front teeth.

“Thanks Aunty Milla!” She leapt forward and grabbed Carmilla into a bear hug and for a moment Carmilla glanced up at Laura looking embarrassed, but she returned the hug nevertheless.

“Anytime, midget,” Carmilla replied, cheeks ever so lightly coloured. When Arty took off to show Dem - who had retreated to her room - Carmilla brushed herself off and said gruffly, “Alright, let’s go.”

“You know where LaFontaine is?” Perry asked hopefully, sitting up straighter on the couch.

“No,” Carmilla checked her watch, “but I will in 5 minutes.”

Kirsch was sitting down on the same rocking chair that he had been when they first arrived, and at Carmilla’s words he went to stand but she gestured for him to stay seated. She shook his hand and leaned in, putting a hand on his shoulder and the side of her face to the side of his, in a move that would have been her kissing his cheek if she was anyone else. Laura could hear soft murmuring, just under the point of being able to discern specific syllables, and saw his eyes soften over Carmilla’s shoulder. Then, for a split second, his eyes connected with Laura’s, and a small smirk appeared on his face.

Carmilla patted him on the shoulder again and leaned back, saying at a normal volume, “Don’t cry, Brody.”

“Shut up, Mills,” he replied, but his expression was full of love.

SJ was leaning against the front doorway, a tea towel flung over her shoulder, and she wiped her hands off with it before opening her arms to Carmilla. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

Carmilla sidled under SJ’s apology, shrugging and looking at the ground as she replied, “It’s whatever.”

“Hollis, Perry!” Kirsch called over to them and Laura and Perry both stepped back towards the porch hesitantly. This hadn’t felt like their moment, but the way Kirsch was giving them an expectant, warm smile was changing their minds. “You guys are totally welcome to come for Thanksgiving. And Christmas.”

SJ sighed. “We’re going to need a bigger house.”

“Totally cool,” Kirsch waved her off, “I was thinking about adding another extension.”

SJ sighed again good naturedly, as she gestured for them both to give her hugs after they traded them with Kirsch. Even sitting down, he was at a comfortable height to hug Laura (thankfully, Carmilla didn’t comment on it).

With all the farewells out of the way, Carmilla looked back into the house. “Say goodbye to the munchkins for me, will you?”

SJ and Kirsch shared a look.

“They like it better when you do it,” SJ said, gently encouraging.

Carmilla hesitated, her eyes lingering on the inside of the house, but her phone went off and she checked it. “We have to go. Will you?”

SJ smiled, patient and understanding. “Of course.”

“Thanks,” Carmilla muttered, and something in the way she said it made Laura sure that there was something else, something deeper. But, Carmilla was already halfway down the porch stairs, pointing back at Kirsch. “Fix the porch light, Brody.”

“Bye _Mills_.”

Carmilla scowled and they all bid their last goodbye and got into the car. As soon as the doors were closed Laura heard Carmilla let out a breath, but before she could even consider why Carmilla would be having that reaction, Carmilla had started the car and they were back on the road again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	9. Chapter 9

The car ride was different this time around. Carmilla had absently turned on the radio, and it was tuned to a country station, so a sorrowful twang filtered through the car as they drove down the highway, dark clouds hanging heavily in the sky. Conversation still didn’t happen though; the only talking was done by the GPS system as it calmly reminded them how long they had to go until their next turn.

To Laura and Perry things still felt odd after getting to glimpse another side of Carmilla; but the agent seemed too preoccupied to notice. Instead, she drove with the window half-down and her fingers tapping on the top of the car doorframe.

Laura hadn’t seen her like this before - she didn’t seem angry like at the base, or relaxed like at Kirsch’s, she didn’t even seem poised for a fight. She just seemed... distracted.

“Where are we going?” Laura asked, because Perry seemed to almost be vibrating from worry in the backseat, and Laura didn’t mind taking the heat from the impatient agent.

Instead of snapping, making a sarcastic comment, or ignoring her, Carmilla replied, “Corvae Dam, it’s a privately owned dam in the Columbia River Basin.”

“That’s where LaFontaine is?” Perry piped up, Carmilla’s lack of fury giving her the courage to speak.

“According to my source.”

It was weird, but the way that Carmilla was acting with her vague, factual responses was concerning Laura greatly. She didn’t say anything, didn’t know how Carmilla would act to her bringing it up in front of Perry, but she did glance at the gas gauge and suggested, “We should probably get some gas soon.”

“Lunch would be nice,” Perry added, her voice hesitantly bright.

Carmilla hummed and nodded, and when a gas station appeared half an hour later she pulled in to it.

Perry waited for Laura to join her inside the store to get some food, but Laura waved her ahead, hanging back while Carmilla unscrewed the gas lid.

“Are you okay?”

Carmilla looked up at Laura slowly, as if underwater, and blinked at her. A moment later her walls went up and she asked roughly, “What’s it to you?”

Laura pressed forward. “You seem...”

“I’m fine.” Carmilla stared at the numbers on the gas pump as they rose steadily. “Shouldn’t you be getting food?”

Laura glanced at the store, where Perry was squinting at the hot food section - no doubt searching for something that at least resembled nutritious.

“If you need to talk about anything...” Laura left the sentence unfinished and inviting.

Carmilla didn’t even look at her as she scoffed and shook the last drops of gas into the tank. “Sorry cupcake, but if you think we’re going to share our deepest, darkest secrets while we braid each other’s hair then you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”

“Fine, whatever.” Laura left, walking over to Perry because she far preferred being around people who acted like they actually wanted her around.

Carmilla watched her go and for a moment she looked like she was going to call out to her, but instead she just slammed the gas flap closed harder than she needed to.

\---

Laura jerked awake and wiped the corner of her mouth where a puddle of drool had collected. She realised they weren’t moving and looked over to the driver’s seat where Carmilla was curled up into a ball, her legs wedged between the steering wheel and centre console and her head tilted at an unnatural angle as it rested on the top of her knees.

Laura checked the time - 4:15am - and looked back over at the sleeping agent. Most people were at peace when they slept, the day’s stresses being wiped clean from their face. If anything, Carmilla looked more troubled asleep than she did awake. Asleep she didn’t have the flawless control of her exterior that she did awake, and there was a deep wrinkle of worry between her eyebrows. Laura wanted to reach out and smooth it over, but they definitely did not have that kind of relationship. The fact that the thought had even popped into her head was weird enough, and she chalked it up to lack of proper sleep.

A soft whimper came from the sleeping agent and the line between her eyebrows deepened. She looked young, far younger than she ever had before, and Laura realised that she didn’t even know how old she was. She’d never asked, just assumed she was the same age. Another quiet whimper and Laura reached out carefully - she’d seen enough movies where disturbing people in their sleep ended badly - and poked Carmilla in the knee.

Carmilla didn’t stir.

Narrowing her eyes, Laura looked around for something to wake up the agent more effectively without getting her fingers broken. She spotted a half-empty packet of gum in the drink holder and grabbed it, throwing it at Carmilla. It hit her cheek and fell into the crook of her neck.

Carmilla jerked awake, eyes alert, and then it transitioned into confusion as she picked up the gum packet and raised an eyebrow at Laura. “Can I help you, cupcake?” she asked, her voice breaking into an even huskier state than usual. Then, with a slow smirk, “Were you watching me sleep?”

“No, I just- I woke up and you-” Laura gestured vaguely between them and Carmilla managed to smirk, despite the sleep that still weighed down her eyelids.

“Usually people buy me dinner before they pull an Edward Cullen.”

“You’ve read Twilight?” Laura asked, surprise lightening her tone.

“Dem had a phase.”

And again, Laura didn’t know how to nail down the agent. Maybe she was un-nailable.

Rather than examine _that_ thought any closer, Laura asked, “Do you want me to drive?”

Carmilla stretched out, pulling her arms as far in front of her as possible and then curving her back before falling back into a relaxed, splayed position. For some reason Laura thought of her childhood cat Crookshanks, a cranky tabby that used to wind around her legs whenever she walked up the stairs.

“We’re six klicks out, we’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot.” Carmilla cast a look back at the still sleeping - and snoring - Perry. “Do you think Orphan Annie will listen to me if I tell her to stay in the car?”

“Debatable.”

Carmilla pulled a face. “Maybe she’ll make a good distraction.”

“We’re not using Perry as a distraction!” Laura fired back, before realising that Carmilla was joking, and that her outburst had woken Perry.

“What time is it?” Perry asked, voice weak with sleep.

“Time for us to go.” Carmilla checked her watch and fiddled with the buttons.

“Oh!” Perry sat up, as if moving to leave the car.

Carmilla fixed her with a look. “Not you.”

“Oh.” Perry sat back in the seat again.

Carmilla reached over Laura to the glove box, clicking it open and grabbing one of the several disposable phones sitting in there. It was a simple brick of a phone, with physical buttons and everything, and Carmilla checked it was working before handing it to Perry.

“When we need to get out of there I’ll send you a message with the coordinates. Put them into the GPS,” Carmilla gestured to the screen in the dashboard, “and then come and get us.” Carmilla examined Perry’s face. “Got it?”

Perry nodded vigorously, with the desperation widening her eyes and making her look almost manic.

Laura reached back and put a hand on Perry’s. “We’ll find them.”

Perry bit her lip and nodded.

Carmilla cleared her throat and got out of the car, clicking open the boot. “Let’s go, super.”

Laura offered one last comforting look to Perry before joining Carmilla by the boot of the car. Carmilla threw a black spec ops uniform at Laura as she rounded the corner and Laura stared at it dubiously.

“It’s my old uniform. It should fit you if you roll up the cuffs.”

Laura shot Carmilla a look over the pile of black clothes and Carmilla raised an eyebrow in return. “Unless you want to infiltrate an enemy base wearing jeans and a singlet.”

“No,” Laura muttered under her breath, putting the uniform onto the side of the car and looking around the shoulder of the road that Carmilla had parked the car, making sure that there wasn’t anyone around who could see. Her eyes caught Carmilla’s, who rolled her eyes and very obviously turned her back to Laura so that she could change.

Laura copied the movement as she quickly pulled off her clothes and started pulling on the uniform. It wasn’t as tight fitting as Carmilla’s jumpsuit, if anything it was actually oddly comfortable. The pants sat on her hips, and brushed against the ground (she rolled them up while glaring daggers at the extra length), while the shirt and lightweight jacket let the breeze in while keeping out the iciness so it was comfortable in the pre-dawn temperatures. Laura zipped up the jacket and turned around to the image of Carmilla bending over as she pulled on her jumpsuit.

Laura whipped back around immediately, her eyes almost popping out of her head. Of course, Carmilla wasn’t going to go in wearing her cut-offs and baggy shirt, but was she incapable of giving Laura some warning?

Laura heard the telltale sound of Carmilla zipping up her jumpsuit and waited a solid ten seconds before turning around again. This time, Carmilla was facing her, the zip barely halfway up her chest, the suit creating a line of cleavage that dipped down low - like, way, way low. Laura swallowed hard.

“Up here, buttercup,” Carmilla drawled.

Laura’s eyes jumped up to her face and she stuttered, “I-I-I didn’t... I wasn’t...”

Carmilla smirked as she pulled the zip up the rest of the way, nodding with a mocking, faux sincere look. “Sure, creampuff.”

Thankfully, Carmilla didn’t let her hang for too long, instead gesturing to the trunk in front of them that was filled to the brim with all sorts of weapons. “Ladies first.” The boot had two small bulbs on either side of the interior, which were barely enough to light up the weapons, but Laura had found that her night vision had improved after the serum.

Desperate to move on from her embarrassment, Laura scanned the trunk. She picked up a shield - it was the same rectangular standard issue ballistic shield as the one she used when fighting at the base, except it was a bit smaller and easier to wield. She put her arm through the straps and gave it an experimental swing. Happy with the range of motion she turned her attention to the weapons, selecting a tactical vest that clipped over the top of her jacket complete with two standard hand grenades, a flash grenade, and smoke grenade. Then, she grabbed two Beretta handguns and combat knife, complete with holsters, and slung a M-16 over her shoulder for good measure.

“You done there, Rambo?” Carmilla asked.

Laura gestured to Carmilla’s belt, which had a million different compartments filled with God knows what. “You have a Batman utility belt and you’re giving _me_ crap for trying to be prepared?”

Carmilla rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath about utility belts and superheroes as she reached past Laura to grab the gun that she had treated like a treasure back at Kirsch’s house, wearing it on her back with the strap going across her chest, and then a Glock pistol that she holstered on her right thigh, as well as a bunch of ammunition and other gadgetry that Laura didn’t recognise.

 _Shit_. Laura quickly grabbed a several rounds of ammunition and tucked them into her pockets. She had almost forgotten about ammo. (Was she really ready to do this?)

Carmilla grabbed onto the side of Laura’s vest, manoeuvring her so that they were directly in each other’s space, facing each other. Laura lost her breath for a moment, staring wide at the spy - somehow she was even more gorgeous this close up and she smelled _amazing_ -

( _Whoa, whoa, so not the time Hollis_ , Laura reminded herself.)

Luckily, Carmilla seemed entirely unaware of the short circuit that she’d caused as her eyes focused on Laura’s gear. She started to adjust Laura’s vest and belt, tightening them both and tugging them properly into place. Laura didn’t know how to react to their proximity - how did she normally act again? What was normal, even? Oh _God_ -, so instead she looked up to the sky and spotted the full moon.

She remembered how her dad had explained the full moon to her, how the moon was on the opposite side of the earth from the sun, with all of them lined up in a straight line. She had been young, young enough to ask if the moon was made from cheese, and he had chuckled warmly before reminding her of the moon rock exhibit they’d seen.

“You good?” Carmilla was done adjusting Laura’s gear and now studied her face.

Laura nodded, not trusting her voice.

“I can do this on my own,” Carmilla offered. Laura knew that it was true, that this was probably a standard mission for Carmilla. Hell, she may have even had more dangerous ones.

But that didn’t matter.

“No,” Laura replied in a sure and steady voice, “we do this together.”

“Laura,” Carmilla said her name so gently that it felt heart breaking in a way that Laura couldn’t define, “you don’t need to prove yourself.”

The softness that had appeared in Laura’s expression when Carmilla used her name disappeared at the rest of the sentence.

“Prove myself?” Laura echoed. “Is that what you think I'm doing? That I’m doing this so that soldiers can’t make fun of me? Or,” Laura’s voice broke slightly, “do you think I’m trying to prove myself to my dead father?” Her question was clipped short by the thick lump that grew suddenly in her throat and she swallowed as much of it down as she could. She had used harsh, blunt words in an effort to cut Carmilla, but she had just ended up hurting herself more.

Carmilla didn’t say anything.

Laura stepped back, because she really couldn’t be close to Carmilla right now. She would end up punching her, or crying, and she didn’t want to do either.

(All that serum and she still felt so damn _weak_.)

“I think you’re trying to prove it to yourself,” Carmilla finally said quietly.

Laura blinked at the other woman.

Carmilla stepped forward, a single step, and Laura fought back the urge to put distance between them again.

“You don’t have to.”

“I know that!” Laura exclaimed, but her voice betrayed the thoughts running under her words. From the look on Carmilla’s face, a gentle understanding that looked so out of place on the agent’s face, it was clear that Carmilla could tell. And it made Laura absolutely furious. “Maybe you only do things for yourself, but I am doing this for LaFontaine and the greater good and,” Laura waved her hand around irritatedly, “and plenty of other stuff! Okay?”

Carmilla didn’t look at all convinced.

Laura ignored her and said, “We should go, the sun will be up soon.”

Maybe it was the anger (it was definitely the anger) but Laura suddenly felt ready. She checked her gear over and squared off her shoulders, tilting her chin up as she eyed Carmilla, daring her to contradict her. Carmilla seemed totally uninterested in fighting though, and for some reason that made Laura feel more frustrated. Out of all times, the agent was unwilling to verbally spar now?

Laura carefully folded up her anger, packing it away, and cast one last glance back at the moon. Her hand went to her necklace pendant and she thought of the card that was in the back pocket of her jeans - now in the boot of the car. She slammed the trunk shut and levelled a glare at Carmilla. “Which way?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	10. Chapter 10

They ran in silence, covering the distance at a decent pace so that by the time they spotted the Corvae dam it was still before dawn. They’d been crossing fairly steep terrain, but it didn’t compare to the area around Acheron’s Path. Here, the ground was even and grassy, and the trees were thick but easy to manoeuvre around.

The wooded areas were still full of an inky black darkness, so Carmilla was wearing a pair of night vision goggles that resembled ski goggles with transparent green glass. She’d offered Laura a pair before they left the car, but Laura had refused by ignoring her completely. Thankfully, her post-serum night vision had done a good enough job.

At first Laura had wallowed in her anger, letting it fester and pour off her in waves. Carmilla had kept her distance, clearly sensing her fury and not wanting to deal with it. This further angered Laura, but not to the point of saying anything, instead she just increased her pace and felt a vindictive flash of victory as she heard Carmilla’s breathing come harder as she fought to keep up.

It was somewhere around the halfway mark that Laura felt the anger start to seep from her, shaking itself loose from her muscles with every step she took. And, as it did, she started feeling more sheepish and guilty for the way she was treating Carmilla. She pulled her pace back to what she had learned was a normal speed for people (even if it basically felt like a walk to her). Carmilla matched her without saying anything and Laura didn’t dare sneak a look over to the agent to see her reaction; she could already see the glare in her head.

Instead she focused on the mission at hand, the inherent danger, and the growing buzz that had replaced the anger, building to a dull roar and flooding her veins.

One klick out they reached the highest part of the hill, giving them a view of the dam. It was a massive concrete wall that stretched across the river; even from this far away it was impressive in its size. There were columns along it at regular intervals, and the water flowed between them, lapping up against the discoloured stone and going out the other side.

Carmilla stopped her with a hand on her elbow and brought out her watch, pressing a button and causing a holographic map to project up from it.

“This is a map of the dam. There’s an entrance here, on the side.” Carmilla spun the map with a twist of her thumb and forefinger, pointing out a side door. “We’ll go in here. They had some heavy security put in down the hall from the generator, so we should start there.”

“How did you get this?” Laura asked, reaching forward and watching her fingertips pass through the hologram, disrupting the image.

Carmilla moved it away from Laura’s curiosity, letting the hologram reform itself. “I know a guy.”

“Do you ever get tired of being Ms Super Mysterious Cryptic Person?”

A small smile spread over Carmilla’s face and some of the tension leaked out of her shoulders - Laura’s lightly frustrated tone lacked any hostility and it alleviated some of the tension between them.

“They have firewalls. I have people who can get through those firewalls,” Carmilla explained simply. Despite the fact that some might consider the explanation terse, Laura knew it was Carmilla’s way of thanking Laura for easing up on her.

“But they don’t know where they’d be keeping LaF?”

Carmilla sighed. “Surprisingly they don’t keep a helpful map of the prisoner cells on their system. I’ll pass it on to their complaints department.”

Ignoring Carmilla’s sass, Laura asked, “Are we just retrieving LaFontaine or are we...?”

“Are we what?” Carmilla prompted.

“You know...” Laura moved her head around and made a vague sound.

Carmilla stared at her blankly.

Laura gave a rough sigh and exclaimed impatiently, “Destroying the enemy base!”

The look Carmilla gave Laura resembled how you’d look at a child before telling them Santa Claus didn’t exist. “Those aren’t my orders.”

Laura frowned. “What are your orders?”

“Infiltrate, retrieve the asset, plant a bug so they can access their secure systems.” Off Laura’s disbelieving look Carmilla added, “We’re not the big guns, cupcake.”

“Fine,” Laura rolled her eyes, “whatever.” She turned her attention back to the dam and muttered something under her breath about big guns and how she totally was a big gun and secret government agencies sucked.

Carmilla bit back a smile and pointed out, “Cut the head off a snake and another grows in its place. We get information on the snake and we can blow up the whole goddamn thing.”

“Poetic.”

“Shut up.”

They both looked down at the dam simultaneously. They still had another half hour until dawn broke and the forest around them was perfectly still, and it felt deceptively peaceful. Neither of them spoke for a moment; the time constraints were still there, but they allowed the weight of the situation to settle between them.

“You sure about this?” Carmilla asked.

Laura bit back her reflex defensive reply and reminded herself that the agent wasn’t asking to be annoying. This was her attempt at being thoughtful, even though it came across as doubting.

“You were right,” Laura admitted quietly.

Carmilla didn’t show any outward reaction and for once Laura was grateful for the agent’s poker face. She continued, “I am doing this to prove something to myself. But that’s not the only reason I’m doing it.” Laura looked back at Carmilla, who met Laura’s eyes slowly. “I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. And what’s the point of being a super soldier if I can’t fight for the right thing?”

A hint of a smile crossed Carmilla’s face, but it was wry. “Come on, hero.” She started down the valley to the dam, and Laura considered trying to decipher Carmilla’s expression, but she abandoned that train of thought as she instead settled into the steady, careful approach towards the complex.

Once they reached the end of the trees, Carmilla stopped Laura with an arm across her front, and flicked the setting on her night vision goggles over to the thermal imaging. She scanned the area between them and the side door; they would have to cover 500 metres, before rounding the corner and reaching the door.

Laura held her breath as she waited for Carmilla to give the go ahead. Partly out of suspense, partly from not daring to make any noise, and partly because if she took in a breath right now the only thing she’d be able to smell would be Carmilla and she couldn’t really deal with the distraction that _that_ would be.

(She knew how ridiculous it was that they were getting ready to infiltrate an enemy base, yet the thing that was making her heart pound in her chest was the agent’s body was pressed against hers but... _whatever_.)

Carmilla started slinking forward slowly, carefully, before gesturing for Laura to follow her as she started to sprint towards the dam. They hit the wall at the same time, and Laura heard Carmilla let out a quiet breath. Then she started creeping around the corner, keeping to the wall, and peered around it. The door was only two metres from the corner and Carmilla crossed the distance quickly, sliding down onto one knee and setting to work with the thick, steel door.

The door had an electronic lock system and Carmilla lifted her goggles onto her forehead as she pulled two wires out of the side of her watch. She hooked one up at the top of the rectangle lock system, the other at the bottom, and a new hologram popped up, with a six-digit display that cycled through numbers at a fast rate. The first digit stopped at a six, the next at three, and so on until all six digits held steady and the lock clicked open.

Carmilla edged the door open and slipped in. Laura, who had been watching the area around them, followed and closed the door behind them.

With the door closed it felt like an airlock, sealing the air, sound and them, in. Everything felt thicker in here, heavier somehow. There was a dull roar that sounded both far away and on top of them at the same time, and Laura realised that it was the water flowing through. The side door had opened up into a small, claustrophobia-inducing stairwell. They were standing on a metal grilled landing, lit up by grimy red-tinged light bulbs, and the stairs descended further than the light reached. Then, right down the bottom was another light; the yellow hue flooded the ground floor and cast a long shadow from the pipes that ran down the wall of the stairwell.

The pipes were thick, Laura wouldn’t have been able to wrap both her hands around them, and they let off a steady amount of steam, making the air in the stairwell muggy and humid. For a moment she wondered where they went and what they were for, but Carmilla was already heading down the stairs so she followed the spy, but each time the stairs wound back around to that wall she eyed them suspiciously.

This complex was meant to be a dam, but even if she hadn’t known something else was under the surface, she would have been suspicious. Something didn’t feel right. She couldn’t name it, but it was there.

As they descended the red light got smaller and smaller, and soon they were in darkness, just looking down through the holes in the grill to the splayed rays of light from the bottom level. Laura was behind Carmilla, and she switched between looking at the back of Carmilla’s loose wavy hair flowing down her back, and through to the floor.

The familiar steady flow of adrenaline pumped through her veins, but the presence of the agent steadied her. Unlike the fight at the base, she felt oddly stable. Like, next to Carmilla, nothing would go wrong.

Maybe it was naive, but Laura welcomed the feeling of certainty.

They got to the bottom level and Laura frowned as she looked at the hallway that the light was coming from. It was only a few metres long, and at the end of it was another steel door.

This time the lock was controlled by a small white panel to the left of the door, and Carmilla set about connecting it to her watch and unlocking the system again. Carmilla pulled the goggles off her head, folded them up and tucked them into one of her belt compartments. She glanced back at Laura, the brown in her eyes was paler in the light, but they were serious as she held Laura in her gaze.

Laura nodded to the silent question and Carmilla opened the door. It led onto a walkway, again with a metal grill for a floor, and a handrail on either side. If the stairwell had been humid, this was downright tropical. All around the walkway were similar pipes to the stairwell, although these even thicker and gave off more steam. The pipes covered the floor, walls and ceiling, making the walkway feel precarious as it took them through the area.

They moved forward, and Laura’s grip on the shield tightened. Every cell in her body was screaming that things weren’t right, that she should go back, but she ignored it.

After a hundred metres, the area around them opened up quite suddenly. While the ceiling and left wall still stayed close to the walkway, they seemed to emerge into an actual room, and quite a sizeable one at that. The floor was now a few metres down and made from a polished concrete that reflected the many bright bulbs that pointed down from the ceiling. The pipes that had previously lined the roof and walls disappeared into the walls, apart from a few of them that snaked down the wall to the large vats lined up below them. There were ten vats in total and they let off a dull engine roar that filled the room, echoing off the white concrete walls and ceiling and feeling like a physical presence pressing down on them.

While Laura was surprised by the size of the room, Carmilla had been less awed, and was now pulling up the map on her watch again. She compared it to the room below and nodded to herself. She got Laura’s attention and gestured down.

Laura headed over to the railing and gripped onto it, looking down to the ground and estimating the distance in her head. Taking in a breath, she let go of the railing, jumped up into a tuck so that her feet landed on top of the railing, before pushing off and falling forward, down, down, down-

( _Absorb the shock, absorb the shock, absorb the shock._ )

She landed on the ground hard, just missing smacking into one of the vats, and rolled forward so that the impact was more evenly distributed through her body. It did the job, although the jolt still rang through her body, and she got to her feet as Carmilla used a wire attached to the handrail to descend, while looking at Laura as if she was crazy.

Laura gave her a shrug and Carmilla rolled her eyes as she reached the ground and retrieved the rest of the wire, packing it back into her belt. Laura’s hand went to her vest and she wondered if she could talk to someone about getting a belt of her own.

Carmilla started leading the way to the other side of the room and Laura had just thought about how weird it was that they hadn’t seen anyone yet when one of the mint green doors along the right wall opened up and a person dressed in a blue jumpsuit walked out. He was just in front of Carmilla, and she was quick to slide in behind him and grab him in a chokehold, applying pressure until he passed out. Once he was out Carmilla gave Laura a pointed look.

Realising that she wanted somewhere to put him, Laura jumped to moving again, going to check the doors along the wall. Luckily, the next one over was a storage closet; so after a quick injection to the arm from Carmilla (Laura remembered the first time they’d met when Carmilla had done the same thing to her and felt a flare of annoyance) he was left in there.

“How long will that last?” Laura asked as she stared at the unconscious worker, careful to keep her voice under the sound of the vats behind them.

“Long enough.”

Thankfully, they made it to the other end of the room without any further interruptions.

They were headed to double doors, which had long, rectangular windows just above the door handles. They were mindful to approach the doors from the side, out of sight of anyone on the other side of the doors. Laura stayed in the corner, keeping watch on the rest of the room, while Carmilla carefully peered through the door window.

There were two guards standing there in black uniforms, with holstered handguns and radios clipped to their shoulders. One of them yawned widely while the other one nodded and murmured something in reply.

Carmilla turned back to Laura and signed for her to take the guard on the left while Carmilla took the right. Laura stared at her blankly. Carmilla rolled her eyes and slowly pointed at Laura, gestured to the left of the hallway, and then pointed to herself and the right of the hallway. Realisation dawned over Laura’s face and she nodded enthusiastically, making her ponytail bounce up and down vigorously. Carmilla eyed the ponytail, reminded herself that this girl was a super soldier, and burst into the hallway.

The guards jumped at the sight of two women barging through the doors, their hands going to their guns but they didn’t even get the chance to unclip their holsters. Carmilla took her guard to the ground with a ground sweep and sent a shock of electricity through his neck with her baton. On the other side of the hallway, Laura had opted to charge the guard, punching him in the throat and then pulling his head down as she thrust her knee up.

Carmilla had to admit, bouncing ponytail or not, the girl was lethal.

Laura looked to Carmilla, waiting for their next move, and was caught off guard by the fact that Carmilla’s eyes were already on her. They only made eye contact for a second before Carmilla continued forward, towards the end of the hallway where there was another set of double doors, except these ones were made from a thicker, reinforced steel, and looked intimidating.

For a moment Laura wondered what was behind the doors that warranted such a system, but she was distracted from the thought as she spotted the telltale black dome of a camera in the corner of the hallway and pointed it out to Carmilla.

Carmilla just gave her a look. “Do you think I’m an amateur?”

Laura shrugged defensively - she had just been trying to help.

Carmilla set about dealing with the lock on the door and Laura looked down at the now unconscious guards. She wondered if they knew what was happening here, if they agreed with it, if they had families.

The lock beeped and hydraulic doors slid open. Laura tore herself from her thoughts and joined Carmilla as they continued to the next area, the doors closing behind them. This time they were in a large round room, at the centre of it there was a circle of desks and equipment consoles, and a large open metal sarcophagus. The desks were full of computers and monitoring devices, as well as a scientific equipment. Five metres up the wall to their left was a long rectangular panel of glass, it reminded her of the observation deck in surgical rooms, and it made her feeling on the room twist into something darker.

She walked towards the computers, the screens were blank but when she tapped a key on the keyboard they flickered on. On them was the same thing she remembered seeing when she’d first woken up in the Fort Themyscira hospital room. It was an outline of a body, with an abundance of writing scrolling next to it, words she didn’t recognise that were at least twelve letters long and contained suffixes like enzyme and prefixes like amino.

That wasn’t what caught her eye though, what caught her eye was the bolded writing in the bottom left corner of the screen that read ‘Sgt Daniella Lawrence’.

“Carm,” Laura said quietly, turning to where the agent was. “I think-”

Laura froze.

Carmilla was staring at her, her eyes wide and full of something that Laura couldn’t recognise. But the strength of what was there was unmistakeable, and it hit Laura like a punch to the gut. It took her a split second to realise that Carmilla wasn’t staring at her, she was staring at the doors _behind her_ , the ones opposite the entrance they’d come through. Laura felt like everything froze around her, the air stilling and her breath catching as she-

The doors behind Laura exploded, both of them flying off the hinges and flipping through the air - one of them hitting the wall so hard that it embedded there, while the other glanced off and clattered to the floor.

Laura spun around, and standing there was Sergeant Lawrence. She didn’t seem to be affected by the explosion of the doors at all; she was just standing there breathing heavily as she glowered at them.

She wasn’t in her usual well-groomed state, the red hair that had always been pulled back into a tight bun now lay loose and flowing, albeit ruffled. She was wearing a white shirt, ripped in places, the black crop top underneath showing through, and black tights that went halfway down her thighs.

(Laura hadn’t realised how long her legs were before. Actual legs for days.)

When she’d first seen the screen she had thought Danny had also been captured, but seeing Danny like this, angry and defensive, made her consider the other option.

“Imagine seeing you here,” Carmilla drawled, and the furious undercurrent in her voice was enough to make Laura’s hair stand on end.

Danny huffed, and it looked like she was focusing hard as she said, “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“Didn’t want us finding out you were a traitor?” Carmilla asked, eyes flashing. “I get it, it’s kind of awkward.”

“Carm...” Laura didn’t know why Danny’s name was on the computer, but she didn’t particularly want to find out, and right now Carmilla’s taunts weren’t helping.

Danny stepped forward, teeth bared, as she growled, “I’m not the traitor, you are.”

“What are you-?”

But before Carmilla could finish her question Danny let out a loud roar, head dropping into her hands as she started to let out a bellow of a scream. Carmilla and Laura watched her bewilderedly as she fell onto her knees, shaking and shuddering.

Finally, she stilled.

“Carm...” Laura said very quietly, shifting to stand next to the agent. “We need to leave.”

Carmilla seemed transfixed by the sight of the balled up Danny Lawrence - who Laura could _swear_ was bigger than she had been before - but she came out of it at Laura’s suggestion and nodded, her eyes scanning the room around them.

While Carmilla formulated the best and quickest way to exit, Laura kept her eyes fixed on the Sergeant. Her stillness was setting Laura on edge, on top of the seemingly overly loyal soldier being the double agent, plus what she had said about them being the traitors...

Danny moved and Laura automatically stepped forward in front of Carmilla. Instead of standing, as Laura expected, Danny instead grabbed the bolted down handrail in front of her, a hand on each support pole, - a _green_ hand, what the _fuck_?! - and she pulled it out of the floor, the screws rattling loosely in their holes. As Danny straightened up and stood to her full height Laura’s jaw dropped.

Danny was now closer to seven feet than six, and her arms and thighs were thickly corded with muscles that bulged and pulsed under the definitely _green skin_.

“What the hell?” Carmilla murmured behind Laura, and Laura would have said something similar if she even had the ability to formulate words right now because seriously _what the hell?_

Danny breathed, hard and heavy like a trapped animal, as she stared at them. Then she pulled the handrail up over her shoulder like a batter stepping up to the home plate, and swung.

Laura was thrown aside as Carmilla shoved her way into the arc of the handrail, and it made a sickening noise as it hit her in the side and sent her flying, colliding into the far wall, under the observation deck, and crumpling to the ground.

Danny blinked, surprised by the quickness of the agent, but she refocused her attention on Laura, who was on the floor, staring up at the towering Sergeant. Fear crawled all the way from the bottom of Laura’s stomach up to fill her throat and strangle her. She forced herself onto her feet, casting a quick glance over at Carmilla, who was in a heap next to the wall.

Danny scowled down at her, lifted the rail back over her shoulder again, and swung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	11. Chapter 11

Laura grimaced as a fist came flying towards her, bracing for the impact. It made contact, sending a loud smack echoing off the walls. Laura stumbled back slightly and the attacker paused, watching her face carefully.

“Sorry, are you okay? I didn’t mean to-”

Laura cut off the girl, “It’s fine. Really. Go again.” Laura held the pad back up and gritted herself against the flurry of hits from the other girl. Around them were other sets of two, trading blows and practicing the Krav Maga techniques that the instructor had just shown them.

Laura had made a deal with her dad that she could to go college in another city if she took Krav Maga, and she was actually really enjoying her first lesson so far. Sure, she was the smallest person in her class and absorbing a blow to the pads hurt way more than she thought it would, but it felt good. It felt reassuring.

Even if her knuckles were already bleeding and she was pretty sure her shoulder was going to be wrenched out of its socket by this girl who didn’t seem to be breaking a sweat.

“Alright,” the instructor at the front of the class clapped his hands, “that’s enough of the pads. Let’s move onto weapons.”

He grabbed a foam stick about the size of a baseball bat from a pile in the corner of the gymnasium. The floor was covered in smooth rubber tiles, and Laura shuffled around on them as she dodged around people’s shoulders to get a good look at what he was doing.

He gave the bat a few thumps in his palm, waiting for everyone to settle down and pay attention. “Now, when you come up against someone with a weapon - whether it be a stick, or a bat, or a crowbar - you only have a limited amount of time to make a decision. Either you run,” he paused, looking around the class, “or you fight.”

“You need to make this decision as quickly as possible, because otherwise you will die.” He let his words sink in for a moment, eyes sweeping the room. “If you want to fight, then you need to get as close to them as you possibly can. So, when your attacker has their arm up like this,” he demonstrated, holding his arm up and back above his head, “you move in. Fast.”

“If you get hit with the tip,” he pointed at the end of the stick, “you will die. Here,” he pointed slightly closer to where he was holding it, “hospital. Here,” he moved his finger closer to his grip, “hospital. Here,” even closer, “ _maybe_ okay. Here,” his hand reached just above his grip, “you have a shot.”

He pointed at one of the bigger men in the class and gestured him forward. He handed him the stick. “Attack me. Full speed.”

The man laughed nervously and adjusted his grip on the baton before moving towards the instructor at what clearly wasn’t full speed. In a motion quicker than what Laura could distinguish, the instructor moved in close, grabbed the man by the shoulder, mimed throwing a knee up into his ribs a few times, and then ripped the baton out of his hand. The instructor gave it a twirl before handing it back to the man.

“Okay. Now, slower.” He cast a glance towards the class. “Watch what I do.”

\---

Laura looked up at the hulking figure of what used to be Sergeant Danny Lawrence. There was no way she was going to be able to reach her, not with Danny now being almost two feet taller than her. But, it did make ducking under Danny’s massive swing a lot easier, which Laura did as she rolled to the side, getting her handgun out of her holster.

She didn’t want to kill the Sergeant but - her eyes flicked over to Carmilla’s body for a second - she could probably deal with hurting her.

Danny sent another swing her way and Laura only just managed to dodge it. The rail lodged into the equipment console behind where Laura had been, and Danny roared in annoyance as she tried to pull the rail free but the strength of her swing had embedded it so deeply in the metal that it just screeched and came apart in her hands.

Laura aimed her gun and started firing at Danny's legs to try and take her down, but the bullets didn't seem to have any effect on Danny except make her angrier as she turned around with a huge scowl and roared so loudly that it made Laura flinch.

“That’s fine, didn’t need my eardrums,” she muttered to herself as she kicked back out of Danny’s reach just as the soldier lunged forward. Laura whipped around the rifle from her back, aiming again and hoping the rifles bullets would have more of an effect. She secured the stock against her shoulder, let the shield hang by the straps around her left forearm, and fired three quick rounds at Danny’s thighs.

Again, Danny’s sole reaction was fury as she charged Laura down. Laura ducked under one of the desks in the room’s inner circle. Danny grasped the top of the table and ripped it free, just as Laura slipped through to the other side of it. Laura dodged as Danny threw the table top at her, letting it skim off her shield.

 _Okay Hollis, what’s next?_ she asked herself as her eyes darted around the room, taking in the pipes that stretched along the middle of the ceiling - which was a solid seven or eight metres up. Carmilla was to her left, still on the floor. And Danny was running right at her, fists swinging.

Laura rushed Danny, running towards her and at the last minute, dropping into a slide, slipping through Danny’s legs and back into the centre circle of the room again. Danny tried to grab her as she went through, but her lumbering actions only served to make her stumble. She turned, arms swinging out and looking slightly off balance as she did.

Laura’s hand went up to her grenade, slowly unclipping it from her belt. She couldn’t just keep dodging the Sergeant, but she needed to incapacitate her so that she could get Carmilla and get out. And - Laura’s eyes darted to the front doors behind Danny - hopefully not attract the attention of any others.

She would have to rely on pure luck for that one.

Danny snorted in annoyance, and started towards Laura again. Laura pulled the grenade pin out as she stood her ground.

When Danny was almost on top of her, Laura threw the grenade right at her. In her confusion, Danny reflexively caught the grenade and looked down at it.

_3..._

Laura leapt over the consoles, and grabbed Carmilla under the arms, dragging her so that they were flush against the console.

_2..._

Laura pressed her body over Carmilla’s, so that Carmilla was covered in the front by Laura and from behind by the console.

_1..._

The grenade exploded.

It sent deadly fragments in every direction and Laura shut her eyes tight as she pressed harder against Carmilla, pulling the shield tighter against her back. After a moment she lifted her head, the cement wall behind them was riddled with pockmarks, but thankfully the console had done a good job of shielding them.

She propped Carmilla against the console - hoping that doing so wouldn’t cause her any further injury - and checked her over. She had a head wound that had matted most of her hair with blood, and the fact that she was still unconscious was worrying; but she had a pulse and she hadn’t been hit with anything from the explosion. Laura let out a breath of relief but it was cut short when she heard a rumble of a groan from the other side of the room. Laura peered over the console and there - with blackened clothes and skin from the explosion - was the Sergeant.

She had been knocked to the far wall, and was sitting there looking dazed, but still very much green and huge.

 _Crap_.

Laura took her ballistic shield off her arm and dropped it to the floor. She grabbed Carmilla, pulling her onto her shoulders in a fireman’s carry, so that Carmilla’s arms were dangling over her left shoulder and her legs were over her right. She locked her into place and got to her feet with a whispered, “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” just in case it was making her injuries worse.

She headed to the door they’d come through but the sound of yelling filtered through from the hallway.

Danny was starting to get to her feet slowly, shaking her head to try and rebalance her equilibrium. The voices got louder from the hallway, and the security keypad beeped as the code was being put in.

Laura tightened her grip on Carmilla and started running towards the doorway that Danny had blown open.

She had no idea where the doorway led; now would be a really useful time for Carmilla’s map, but Laura had no idea how to work it.

Laura skidded towards the doorway, and her running past attracted Danny’s attention. It cut through the haze that the grenade had caused, and focused Danny as she rocked up onto her feet and started to lumber towards them.

The hydraulic doors behind opened, revealing a troop of guards with their guns up. Danny turned at the sound, frowning at the interruption, and the guards looked up at her with wide eyes. Then, slowly, one of the guards at the front reached over and pressed a button, closing the door again.

Meanwhile, Laura had found herself in a large room - not as large as the circular one, but still sizeable. It was full of equipment that reminded her of the tests she had undergone, with exercise equipment along the back wall, a bay of computers to her side, and to the right, behind a glass wall and sliding door, was a bed surrounded by monitoring equipment.

 _This must be where they’ve been keeping Danny_ , Laura realised. There was another imposingly heavy security door on the wall to the left. She bit her lip, examining the riveted steel door, trying to guess if a grenade or gun could open it. Probably not.

Laura glanced behind her. Danny was walking towards them, and starting to pick up speed.

Laura ran over to the computer bay, tucking Carmilla underneath the desks right in the corner and hiding her from view with the chair. She moved to the opposite corner from the entrance, taking aim with her rifle once again. The Sergeant seemed indestructible - but she had one option left.

\---

“Krav Maga isn’t about perfection, it’s not about form, it’s not about looking good.” The instructor scanned the line of people in front of him. “It’s about surviving. If you get into a situation where someone is coming after you, looking to hurt you or kill you, and you need to defend yourself?  You’re not going to be thinking ‘what technique should I use’ or ‘what did my instructor say’. No matter how great he is,” he joked and chuckles rippled throughout the class.

After they had dissipated his expression returned to serious. “If you get in that situation, you have to remember the basics, the weaknesses that everyone has - no matter how big or strong they are. Groin, throat, and,” the instructor pointed to his face, “eyes.”

\---

Sergeant Lawrence burst into the room, fists clenched and roaring.

Laura steadied the stock against her shoulder and took in a breath and as she let it out she took a shot, aiming for Danny’s eyes. The first hit her in the forehead, the next hit her temple, and the other two hit her cheek, and all the while Danny was bearing down on her.

The Sergeant’s voice echoed in her head, criticising her for not spending more time in the shooting range. Shoving aside the weirdness of having the Sergeant in her head while she was trying to shoot her in the eye, Laura hooked the gun strap over her shoulder again, and leapt into a forward roll, out of Danny’s range and towards where the weight station was.

As Danny swung around to chase her down, Laura picked up one of the 25kg weight plates and flung it towards her like a frisbee. Danny ducked out of the way, putting up a forearm to shield herself and the plate hit it, going flying in the other direction and crashing into a computer monitor.

Laura picked up the next plate and threw it again, stepping towards Danny as she did so. She needed to get closer, that was the only way she’d get a clear shot at her eyes - which were tiny in comparison to her colossal size. It was like trying to shoot a grape that kept moving around erratically and roaring at you.

Laura picked up the whole stack of weight plates, using one hand to hold them and the other to keep throwing them at Danny’s face. Danny stumbled back from the ongoing attack, before losing her patience and aggressively shoving her face forward to roar at Laura, and for her effort she got a plate to the teeth. Danny’s roar was cut short as she was caught off guard by the blow, and Laura took the opportunity to drop the weights, grab her handgun and take aim at the Sergeant’s eyes.

She got two shots off - both hitting her eyebrow - before the Sergeant lunged forward, grabbing Laura by the wrists and pulling her up towards her face. Holding Laura up a solid metre off the ground, Danny roared again, sending hot breath and spit into Laura’s face.

Laura grimaced hard, she was fairly sure her wrists were on the edge of breaking right now. Then, without letting go, Danny swung her to the side, slamming her into the wall, and Laura was definitely sure that _some_ thing had broken just then. If only she could get a hand free...

A shot went off, unlike anything that Laura had ever heard before. It was louder than a gun, but far more contained than an explosion. She looked over and there was Carm, conscious and holding the weird gun, using the chair was a prop. Laura couldn’t tell what had just happened though; Danny was still winding up to hit her against the wall when-

She stopped.

Or, to be more precise, she froze.

A grey goop was now covering the Sergeant from her feet, which were rooted to the ground, all the way up to her hands and chin, leaving only her fingers and face free.

To the side, Carmilla used the chair to help herself to her feet, leaning on it and giving Laura a grimace. “I pass out for a few minutes and you end up almost pummelled to death by Jolly Green over here. I think we need to talk about your dependence issues.” Carmilla coughed roughly, flinching as she did, and then tried to suck in a breath and even from her place across the room Laura could hear it crackle. They needed to get to a doctor.

Laura swung her legs up, ignoring the pain in her side, and put the soles of her boots against Danny’s body, pushing as hard as she could and yanking herself out of the Sergeant’s grip and dropping to the floor. She winced as pain ripped through her body, but got to her feet, looking up at the towering pile of grey goop that was now the Sergeant. The incredibly infuriated looking Sergeant who - judging by the expressions she was pulling - was struggling hard against the goop but not getting anywhere. Which, of course, led to more roaring.

“Does she always do that?” Carmilla asked, wincing.

“She has a lot of feelings.”

Carmilla smirked at Laura’s response and when Laura moved over to help her stand up straight she waved her off, using the now empty gun as a crutch. “What’s the exit situation?”

“The way we came in is full of guards, we have to use this door,” Laura gestured to the security door. “Will your watch work on it?”

Carmilla lifted up her watch and examined its shattered screen. She gave it a few taps and the screen weakly flickered before dying. “Apparently not,” Carmilla stated dryly.

“That’s fine, that’s totally...” Laura gathered herself, swallowing hard and tightening her grip on her handgun, gritting her teeth against the pain that shot through her wrists. “We can do this.”

Carmilla coughed again and pulled the handgun out of her thigh holster, straightening up as much as she could. She set her jaw and cocked her gun. “Lock and load.”

Laura was about to stride forward into the other room when the security door to the side exploded inwards, sending a brief flare of fire with it. Laura grabbed Carmilla by the arm, pulling her out of the way as the door flipped over and over, crashing into the glass wall and shattering it.

“What the fuck is it now?” Carmilla muttered under her breath and Laura was inclined to agree. She didn’t know if this was standard fare for a mission, but honestly these dramatic entrances were getting ridiculous.

The smoke cleared gradually, revealing the silhouette of a towering figure. With a hiss and a clank the figure stepped forward, out of the smoke, revealing a metal robot with glowing eyes. Laura’s breathing stopped.

The robot reached up to press a button on the side of their helmet and the face cover lifted up, revealing a puzzled looking LaFontaine. “Laura? Carmilla?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	12. Chapter 12

“LaFontaine?”

Laura stared at the mechanical suit that LaFontaine was wearing. It looked like it had been built out of bits of scrap metal, welded together in a haphazard way, with burn marks and bulges where the pieces didn’t quite fit together. The one part of the suit that didn’t look cobbled together was the glowing circle right at the centre of the chest plate, which gave off a bright blue light.

Before Laura could consider what the light was, LaF’s eyes snapped over to the doorway they’d blown their way through. “We have to go.” They walked over to the blob that was covering Sergeant Lawrence.

“Whoa, Dr Frankenstein,” Carmilla stepped in between the two of them, “what are you doing?”

“I came here for her,” LaF gestured towards the Sergeant, their suit giving out a hydraulic hiss as they did.

“Why?” Laura asked, frowning.

LaFontaine looked between the other two, as if weighing up whether they should go into it now. “She doesn’t know what this place is. She’s not the mole.”

“Who is?” Carmilla asked, disbelief and suspicion colouring her tone.

“The Major.”

Carmilla’s face shifted, expression dropping and letting out a sigh. “Brilliant.”

“Can I?” LaFontaine impatiently gestured towards Danny.

“I’m not letting Xena out until she powers down.”

LaFontaine let out a long suffering sigh and went over to the circular room, each step weighted and slow, complete with clunking sound effects. Laura and Carmilla shared a look as they waited, the Sergeant behind them now adopting a defeated, fuming expression. After a few minutes, LaFontaine - and their noisy suit - reappeared with what looked like a tranq rifle. They took aim, and fired. A small dart flew out of the gun and hit Danny directly in the white of her eye.

At the bullseye, Laura shuffled her feet sheepishly and looked elsewhere. Being outgunned by a scientist was not the way she wanted to spend her unofficial second mission. ( _Not that LaF classified as a normal scientist_ , Laura thought as she continued to eye their suit.)

But Laura’s feelings about LaFontaine’s gun skills disappeared a moment later as she watched the needle disintegrate into itself and the Sergeant lose conscious and start to _shrink_ , letting the goo envelop her completely.

“Now will you let her go?” LaFontaine asked pointedly.

Carmilla rolled her eyes, muttering something about rescue missions and ungrateful hostages as she braced herself and brought the gun back up, clicking up a sight from the side to the top of the barrel, and pressing a button near the trigger, sending out a dark red - so dark it was almost black - laser at the goo. It fell away, melting at the laser’s touch, revealing a worse for wear looking, normal-sized Sergeant. Well, normal for her.

Without anything holding her in place the Sergeant slumped forward, and Laura moved automatically to catch her. Laura let out a small, pained breath as her deadweight managed to hit one of Laura’s sore points, and Carmilla eyed her sharply. Laura shook her head - she could handle it, and it wasn’t like the unconscious Danny had meant to do that.

“We have to go. _Now_.” There was an insistent desperation in LaFontaine’s tone, and Carmilla looked ready to say something in return; but maybe it was the injury, or maybe it was the fact that their party had grown exponentially in the last five minutes, because instead she just nodded.

“I assume you know where the exit is,” Carmilla stated dryly.

“Through there.” LaF tipped a chin at the door that Carmilla and Laura had come through, to the hallway that was full of guards.

Carmilla let out a breath and seemed to summon something in herself, drawing up to her full height. “You have something that’ll get the door open?” she asked LaF.

LaFontaine nodded. “Stand back.”

Laura dragged Danny over to the side, while Carmilla limped behind them. They both propped up against one of the yet to be destroyed tables, grateful for the extra moment. Carmilla touched Laura on the arm lightly, her eyes questioning.

Laura nodded in response, and the look in Carmilla’s eyes softened. Laura’s hand went to Carmilla’s face, dabbing at the trail of blood her head wound had left. Carmilla flinched, but allowed Laura to touch her nevertheless. When she finally met Laura’s eyes again she nodded.

There was a huge explosion and Laura braced herself as she twisted her body, placing herself between the direction of the explosion and the other two. Carmilla leaned forward - Laura’s breath hitched - and unclipped the flash grenade from Laura’s vest, tearing herself from Laura’s side and pelting the grenade into the hallway.

Laura quickly swallowed the lump in her throat and steeled herself as she bent down to gather Danny into the same fireman’s carry that she’d had Carmilla in earlier. Granted, it was more painful and Danny was far taller, but once Laura straightened up the pain was manageable.

“Rifle,” Carmilla ordered, all the softness gone.

With some struggle, Laura pulled her rifle free and gave it to Carmilla, who led them into the hallway, which was now full of disoriented and unconscious guards. LaF made slow progress in their suit, and Laura took up the rear position. She didn’t like the glances LaFontaine kept sending back in the direction that they’d come from - her unease from earlier had come back by the bucketload and she couldn’t tell if she was making it up in her head or if there was a reason for it.

One of the guards tried to get to his feet and Carmilla aimed the rifle at his head, flicking the safety switch off.

“Carm,” Laura spoke quietly but firmly, “they’re not the enemy.”

Carmilla continued to hold the position for an extra second, her jaw tensing, before clicking the switch back into the safe position. She turned the gun around and used the stock to knock him out with a swift blow to the face.

They cleared the hallway, getting back into the room with the huge circular vats, which were still whirring away, and Carmilla closed the door behind them, taking a flat circular disc out of her belt and placing it in the middle of the doors. Two metal pins clicked out on either side of the disc, screwing themselves into the doors and sealing them closed. “Now where?”

LaFontaine pointed to the first door on the left. “The reception area is on the other side of that room, then we have to take the elevator.”

“Do you know what time the work shifts run?”

LaFontaine nodded. “We have another fifteen minutes before this place is full of people.”

Carmilla’s jaw tensed, and Laura could see her mind working. “Can you go any faster in that thing?”

“This is top speed,” LaFontaine replied, scowling insultedly. “I _built_ this while I was impriso-”

“A simple ‘no’ would suffice.” Carmilla eyed the suit. “Leave it.”

“What? I’m not leav-”

“You leave it, or we leave you. Your choice.”

LaFontaine and Carmilla glared at each other for a long moment. In the suit LaFontaine was taller than Carmilla but this didn’t phase the agent at all, whose grip on the rifle was a little too tight for Laura’s comfort.

LaFontaine was the first to back down. “Fine.” With a huff they pulled at one edge of the chest plate and it opened up, before disassembling the rest of the suit and stepping out of it. Without the armour, Laura saw that the glow had emanated from LaFontaine’s chest, not the suit. When LaFontaine realised Laura’s eyes were on it, they put their hand over the glow and twisted something that Laura couldn’t see, and it disappeared.

Under the suit LaF was only wearing a singlet and boxer shorts, and Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “Combat ready.”

“I was wearing-” LaFontaine let out a grunt of annoyance, and held out their hand. “Can I get a gun at least?”

Carmilla handed over her handgun. “You two wait here, I’ll clear it.”

Laura stepped forward at that. “You’re not clearing it on your own.”

“You going to stop me, cupcake?” Carmilla asked, narrowing her eyes in defiance.

“No. But this is,” Laura leaned forward and pressed into Carmilla’s injured side.

Carmilla grunted, her face pulling into a pained grimace. “Fine,” she grumbled, “leave the giant.”

Laura put Danny down, propping her against the now empty suit, and LaF helped keep her there. As Laura went to join Carmilla by the door, LaF brushed their fingers against Laura’s wrist and Laura turned back.

“Be safe,” they said, eyes full of concern.

Laura remembered the card her dad had left her and she swallowed down the sudden urge to cry. Instead, she just nodded, brought both of her handguns out, and joined Carmilla by the door.

Carmilla eyed the two guns dubiously.

“What? Lara Croft does this,” Laura said defensively.

Carmilla let out a heaved sigh and pushed the door open. She entered first before gesturing Laura in silently. The room was empty, the walls lined with consoles that blinked on and off and reminded Laura of the ancient, giant computer towers. The size of the consoles made the room feel narrow, warming the air with the whir of the hardware.

They got to the other end of the room and Carmilla held up her hand, stopping Laura in place. Carmilla pressed her ear to the door, listening carefully. Then she nodded and they continued into the reception area.

The reception area didn’t look like it belonged to a dam, it looked more like something you’d find in the foyer of a multinational corporation. It was full of chrome and glass, with the front wall being completely made of windows that stretched from the marbled floors all the way up, at least three storeys high, to the ceiling. The windows looked out onto the river, and the first light of dawn had started to make its way through the surrounding areas.

While the front wall was all open, the others were more austere. The ceiling sloped down from the front to reach the back wall, which was three metres shorter than the front and had a bay of two elevators embedded in the marble wall. Behind the bay was a corridor leading around the corner to a different part of the dam. The wall opposite them was a grey, matte concrete that had microscopic dents and hollows in a minimalistic fashion that stank of wealth. It was only as tall as the back wall, and the difference in height between that and the sloping ceiling was accounted for by a row of  tinted glass. The wall they had just come through was done in the same style.

The reception area was empty of people, the only things in it were the polished chrome reception desk - a square half-wall enclosure in the centre of the room - and a set of couches and armchairs in the front left hand side of the room - arranged so that any visitors could take in the view of the river.

Laura’s grip on her guns tightened. Something didn’t feel right about this. The emptiness felt foreboding.

A look over to Carmilla told her that the agent felt the same; her rifle was poised and ready as her eyes scanned the reception. Laura wanted to say something, but the tension in Carmilla’s shoulders demanded absolute silence.

It was still, utterly, maddeningly still.

And then, it wasn’t. In a moment that looked, sounded, and felt like an explosion, all the windows along the ceiling burst open and in poured soldiers in uniform, sliding down ropes and surrounding them, each of them armed with rifles that were pointed right at them.

Laura couldn’t help but move in closer to Carmilla, automatically turning so that they were back to back as she looked around the now full reception area.

“What do we do?” she asked, low enough that only Carmilla could hear it, although her tone was frantic.

She turned her head just in time to catch Carmilla’s smirk.

“We have some fun,” Carmilla muttered and somehow, even when quiet, her tone was suggestive. She threw her hands up dramatically in surrender as she called out, “You got us. Fair and square. Good job, you.”

She nudged Laura, who did the same, her guns joining Carmilla’s in the air. The Corvae guards moved in closer, all of them still aiming their weapons, and creeping forward with a tentativeness that made it clear that they’d heard of Carmilla before.

“Parlay?” Carmilla asked, batting her eyelashes and cocking her hip to the side. Under her breath she counted off, “Three, two, one...”

A Corvae guard was about a metre away from them to Carmilla’s left when Carmilla struck. She dropped her rifle, and kicked it up into his face. He reeled back, but the barrel still thumped him hard in the middle of the eyes, causing him to groan and crumple. Carmilla slid down onto her knees, using him as a human shield as she grabbed her rifle again and started to take non-lethal shots at the surrounding guards.

In the meantime, Laura had taken a different approach, putting away her guns as she dodged back and forth as she ran to the perimeter circle of guards. She moved in as quickly as possible to the closest guard, so quickly that she saw his eyes widen in surprise, and grabbed the rifle by the magazine, shoving it back and knocking him off balance. She then twisted the gun and delivered a hard kick to the side of his leg, which made him drop to the ground.

A bullet whizzed past her head and she promised herself that she would pat herself on the back for that move later - for now she had a whole platoon to deal with.

\---

“We have to go.”

Carmilla spun around to LaFontaine, scowling as she shoved them out of the way, shooting the guard behind them in the shoulder before they could take aim at LaF.

“I told you to stay in the other room.” Carmilla shot another guard in the thigh, and he fell to the floor with a yelp.

“It’s been ten minutes.”

“We’ve been busy,” Carmilla retorted, pointedly shooting another guard in the bicep.

“These guys don’t matter,” LaFontaine insisted, “we need to leave.”

Carmilla turned to the scientist and regarded them for a moment. LaFontaine raised their eyebrows meaningfully. She sighed. “Goddamnit.” Carmilla hit the button to call the elevator and turned to where Laura was currently holding one guard in a headlock and kicking another across the jaw. “Hollis! We’re clearing out!”

Laura turned around, spinning the guard with her, and pouted. “What? Why?”

Carmilla rolled her eyes - she was seriously over being questioned at every turn. “Come on, creampuff. If you want someone to beat up we’ll stop at a biker bar on the way home.”

Laura coloured. She dropped the guard she was holding in a headlock, and sent an elbow into the nose of the guard who was trying to subtly approach from behind.

The elevator dinged and Carmilla said, “Ride’s here. Let’s go.”

LaFontaine was the first in the elevator, dragging Danny behind them. Carmilla got in next, a hand holding the door in place as they waited for Laura - who was lagging behind as she dodged her way between the remaining able guards and the bullets that were still flying everywhere.

Laura finally made it to the elevator, ducking under a messy spray of bullets, and the doors slid shut. Carmilla jammed the button for the parking garage level, and leaned against the wall, letting her body slacken and allowing some of the pain to seep back into her consciousness. It had been a long morning.

LaFontaine had wedged Danny between the wall and their back, her chin resting on their shoulder. Laura stood at the front, facing the door, and swaying slightly as she continued to buzz with adrenaline.

Generic Muzak played over the tinny speaker, Laura recognised the tune but couldn’t pin the actual song down. Then again, she couldn’t pin much of anything down right now. It felt like the adrenaline had turned into a constant tone ringing in her ears.

They all watched the lights above the doors, waiting for the parking level bulb to light up.

Suddenly, a deep rumble tore through the building, echoing through the floors and walls, and making the elevator swing violently - reminding them all that they were in a metal box that was hanging there by wires.

The lights in the elevator flickered, once, twice, and then went off, as the elevator shuddered to a halt.

“Fuck,” Carmilla muttered.

She moved to the front of the elevator and pried open the door, grunting through the searing pain in her side. When Laura realised what she was doing, she moved forward to help her, taking the left door while Carmilla continued to pull across the right. After some struggle they managed to get an opening about half a metre wide, enough to see that the elevator had gotten halfway to the garage level.

Another - closer - explosion rocked the elevator cab again, snapping one of the wires and sending the cab tilting down to the right. Laura fell against Carmilla, who caught her and let out a pained outtake of breath as she braced them both against the wall and tried to centre them to stop the cab from tilting even worse.

At the back of the cab, LaFontaine had only just managed to stop Danny’s head from hitting the wall, struggling under the weight of the Sergeant with a groan.

“You two get up there and I’ll hand you Xena,” Carmilla ordered.

“No, you go,” Laura countered.

“Laura-”

There was another rumble and the cab tilted even more. Now the open space was more of a triangle than a rectangle. “Carm, _go_!”

Knowing this wasn’t the time for an argument, Carmilla caved and grabbed the scientist, throwing them towards the gap. They both got out and Laura hoisted the Sergeant over, taking in a sharp breath before crouching down, grabbing her around the thighs, and lifting her up through the gap. On the other side, Carmilla and LaFontaine grabbed Danny, one on each side, and pulled her through and free of the elevator.

The remaining wires holding up the elevator cab let out a long screech, wearing thin at the tension that was meant to be distributed more evenly.

“Laura, take my hand!” Carmilla thrust her arm through the gap, not caring about losing it if the elevator crashed, not caring about anything except for the girl that she had left in the cab.

Laura’s hand closed around her forearm and with a powerful push through her thighs, Laura barrelled through the gap with so much force that Carmilla was bowled over while the elevator behind her plummeted.

Carmilla grimaced at the reverberating pain from being slammed down on the floor by Laura. Realising what she’d done, Laura got up immediately and hoisted Carmilla to her feet. “I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”

Carmilla waved her off, her hand going to her injured side - well, more injured, because at this point it was all relative. “As long as you’re okay.”

She looked up to see Laura staring at her, partly open mouthed, with her head tilted.

 _Shit_ , Carmilla thought. Before she could amend what she’d said a black Jeep came squealing to a stop next to them. The window wound down and LaF yelled, “Get in!”

“Get in the back. I’m driving,” Carmilla ordered, doing her best to free herself of the previous moment. LaFontaine looked ready to argue but another explosion - this one felt like it was directly below them - went off and they scrambled into the back seat.

Carmilla jumped into the driver’s seat and took off the second she did. Laura’s door was still open and she had to yank against the force of the car to get it closed, gripping the edge of the seat and hoping she didn’t go flying. In the back, LaF felt like they’d been sucked into the leather as Carmilla tore out of the car park like a bat out of hell.

Once they hit the sunlight, Carmilla adjusted her rear-view mirror and glared at LaF out of the corner of it. “Are you going tell us how you knew the dam was exploding?”

As if to punctuate Carmilla’s question, the Corvae Dam gave one last huge explosion, sending a plume of fire and smoke sky-high.

Laura gave a shout, ducking down reflexively. Carmilla’s eyes hardened and didn’t leave LaFontaine’s.

“They threatened Perry,” LaFontaine said quietly.

The rest of the car ride was silent.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	13. Chapter 13

“Are you sure this is safe?” Perry asked as they sat in the parked Jeep that they’d acquired from the Corvae Dam. Carmilla had combed the mechanics for tracking devices, going so far as stabbing a hole in the GPS screen embedded in the dash.

“Unless someone else has a better secret lab that they haven’t mentioned yet,” Laura replied back snarkily and Carmilla snickered.

“She was just asking,” LaFontaine fired back, putting their hand over Perry’s and giving her a reassuring smile.

“I’m sorry Perry, I’m just…” Laura sighed. “I’m tired.”

“It’s okay,” Perry said in a small voice.

They were all tired - it had been a long day since escaping the dam that morning. It had only taken four hours to drive from the dam back to Laura’s neighbourhood, but after what had happened it felt like a lifetime.

Carmilla had been the first to denounce the plan to return back to Laura’s house; it was definitely being watched. That was, until Laura had told them about the secret laboratory that her father had built underneath the house, which had a hidden entry a few blocks away.

Her dad had told her about it when she was young, in case anything happened and she needed to hide. It wasn’t until she was fourteen years old that she realised that having a secret science room under the house wasn’t normal. It took her until sixteen to realise that neither was practicing an emergency procedure for if people broke into the house.

She had chalked it up to her dad’s paranoia, but right now she was sure that it was less paranoia and more just forward thinking.

They were parked in the shadows facing the back lane behind a row of stores, where the entrance was. Carmilla’s eyes darted around the area, surveying each person who walked past, searching for any people who didn’t belong. Her hand was covering her side where Danny had hit her with the rail, and Laura could still hear the crackling every time she breathed too deep.

Laura had suggested going to the hospital several times but Carmilla waved her off. “We need to get safe first, then deal with it.” Even though Carmilla said ‘we’, her eyes bore into Laura’s so fixedly that Laura couldn’t bring herself to counter it.

Something Laura had learned during the four hour drive with LaFontaine and Perry was that while Laura was happy that LaFontaine was okay - she was nowhere near as happy as Perry. Perry had demanded to know about every single detail of LaFontaine’s incarceration; from how they’d been forced to develop the super serum that had been used on Danny (the guilt in their voice added more depth to why they’d demanded on taking her), to every meal they ate.

(Laura had noticed, however, that LaFontaine conveniently left out the detail of them destroying the dam.)

A couple hours in, and Laura was thoroughly jealous of Danny’s unconscious state. She snuck a few glances Carmilla’s way, but the agent was stock-still and seemed far away as she drove on autopilot. Laura wished that she’d been given that part of the training during her crash course.

So, when Perry had asked whether her dad’s lab was safe, she had snapped a little. Which she had already started feeling guilty for. She grabbed the bag of mini cookies off the dash and offered it back to Perry with an apologetic smile.

Perry took one and gave Laura a small, but warm, smile as she took a tiny bite out of it.

LaFontaine leaned forward, grabbing onto the back of Carmilla’s seat. “Are we going in?”

“How are we going to get Big Foot across the road, genius?” Carmilla asked, her eyes not leaving the street in front of them.

LaFontaine glanced over at Danny. “Why don’t we ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ it?”

Carmilla very slowly turned in her seat to stare at the PhD student. LaFontaine didn’t waver under Carmilla’s disbelieving look, if anything they got more confident as a rebellious glint entered their eyes.

\---

“LaFontaine, you need to hold your side up better!”

LaFontaine grunted as they got a tighter grip on the slipping Sergeant, which jostled Perry’s side, and made her huff.

They reached the other side of the street successfully, thankfully without any cars to deal with. Despite the row of stores, this was still a slow neighbourhood, so the slumping Sergeant wearing sunglasses didn’t attract too much attention.

“Why are we the ones doing this?” LaF grumbled, shooting daggers at Carmilla’s back as she walked ahead and pretended not to know them. “You two are the strong ones.”

“Oh you flatter me, Dr Frankenstein.” Carmilla loped into the back lane, everything about her body language screamed casual, but her eyes shifted around attentively. “But you two are taller and it was your genius plan after all.”

LaFontaine tried to hoist Danny better into a semi-standing position while glaring at Carmilla, but eventually they gave up on the glare and instead worked to secure Danny’s arm around their shoulders.

Carmilla ignored LaFontaine’s attempt at a glare, studying the back of the building in a move that looked like she was stretching her neck muscles. There were four store fronts in the building, but five doors on the back wall. The fifth was easy to miss; it was in the garbage storage wall recess, tucked behind a dumpster. At least, it was usually easy to miss; right now Laura had already moved aside the dumpster and was kneeling in front of the door, inputting a code into the lock.

Carmilla distanced herself from the red heads, leaning against the wooden fence and hooking her fingers through the belt loops of the jean cut-offs that she’d changed back into. Her eyes continued to scan the alley, but they kept returning to the blonde.

One of the back doors to the right opened and a man in his early 20s stepped out, his work uniform shirt flapping open as he skipped his way down the steps and tucked his long hair behind his ear.

Carmilla kicked off from the fence with one boot - how the agent managed the stylish, unruffled look while on the run was maddening - and strode towards the man before he looked up.

LaFontaine watched Carmilla as she trailed her hand down the man’s arm, laughing loudly in a way that would have sounded genuine coming from anyone else, but from Carmilla it sounded mocking.

The man didn’t seem to notice though, just stared at Carmilla as if she had put the stars in the sky. LaFontaine glanced over at Perry to see if she was watching what was happening too and Perry looked over at the same time with the same expression. They both returned their attention to where Carmilla was now feeling the man’s bicep while he flicked his fringe out of his eyes and grinned.

From next to the dumpster, Laura had tried to get LaFontaine and Perry’s attention by waving over at them a few times, but they were both focused on something else. Suddenly concerned that it had something to do with Carmilla, Laura propped open the door with a brick, and made her way over to them quickly.

“I got the door open, where’s-?” She followed their gaze and made an embarrassingly strangled noise in the back of her throat when she saw Carmilla put her hand on some _random_ man’s chest.

Laura’s mind worked quickly - Carmilla was probably distracting him so he wouldn’t see Danny or the door; they were right in the middle of something important she wouldn’t choose now to pick someone up; and, her laugh was _totally_ fake. Unless that was her real laugh and Laura had never heard it before.

(Oh _God_ , what did Carmilla’s laugh sound like?! It felt like the most important question in the world right now.)

Carmilla linked her arm through the man’s, turned him entirely away from them, and led him around the corner.

“L, are you okay?” LaFontaine asked tentatively.

Laura realised that she was tensing, well, pretty much everything. She forced herself to relax quickly and offered the redheads a tight smile. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

LaFontaine and Perry shared a look.

“Laura, honey,” Perry’s eyes were huge as she stared at Laura, “maybe we should go inside.”

Before Laura could reply, Carmilla appeared around the corner, and something in Laura’s face either relaxed or tensed, and no one present - including Laura - knew which one it was.

Before Carmilla reached them Laura turned on her heel and marched back to the door. LaFontaine and Perry shared another look before following her, lugging Danny along, and Carmilla followed behind them at a nonchalant pace.

The corridor lit up as they walked through it, the lights flickering on as they came within range and casting a pallid glow. The walls were concrete blocks, and made the air smell like damp stone. Once Carmilla closed the door, the smell only intensified, thick and stale.

Laura walked forward confidently, shoulders squared and head held high. LaFontaine wasn’t sure if it was because she had walked this way so many times, or if it was put on.

Probably a combination of both, they decided.

Laura reached another door, this one was modern and clearly technologically advanced, where the front one had looked worn and dull with a stained ‘Prohibited Area: Personnel Only’ sign.

Laura pressed the pad of her thumb to the panel on the right of the door and it let out a loud click, shifting open with a whoosh of air.

LaFontaine was the first to admit that they were keen to see the hidden laboratory of their mentor, but they didn’t imagine how excited they would be once they got there. The room had three long benches, one against each wall and another down the middle, at the back left corner was a basic kitchenette, and on the right was a bathroom and emergency shower.

Next to the door was a basic medical cot, which they helped lay Danny down on before flitting about the room, examining all the different equipment and technology and feeling like they’d gone to heaven because _seriously?_ This stuff was _ridiculous_.

Carmilla leaned against the nearest bench and grimaced. Her breathing was getting worse, and the pain was wracking her entire side every time she dared to take in a breath. She scanned the room. “Is there medical equipment here?”

“Yes.”

Carmilla didn’t have the energy to consider why Laura was acting so cold; she would deal with that later. She caught the sleeve of the scientist as they walked past. “I need your help with something.”

\---

Laura watched the fluid as it travelled down the tube and into the plastic container on the floor. Carmilla was lying down on the middle counters, her right arm propped under her head, eyes on the ceiling as she waited for the fluid to drain out of her lung cavity.

“You had a collapsed lung, and you didn’t want to go to the hospital,” Laura stated flatly.

“Hospitals mean records. They don’t exactly like doing off the books work.” Carmilla turned her head to look at the girl. “Besides, not the first time this has happened. This is considerably swankier than some of the other operation theatres I’ve had to make do with. You should have seen Budapest...”

“What if you’d gotten seriously hurt? Or gotten a chest infection? I mean, you can’t just-”

“Sweetheart,” Carmilla interrupted, “this whole worried bedside routine is cute, but unnecessary. I’m fine.”

Laura blushed and ducked her head down, examining her hands in her lap.

Carmilla turned her face back to the ceiling and let her eyes close. “So are you going to tell me why you were annoyed at me before?”

“Oh,” Laura said quietly, “you noticed.”

“I notice everything. Kind of my job.”

Laura bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment. This was going to sound so stupid, like, beyond stupid. “The guy that you flirted with, before.”

“The puppy who I distracted,” Carmilla corrected.

“Right...” Laura took in a quick breath. She could take out a room full of soldiers, but God forbid she speak openly about her embarrassing thoughts. “You flirt. A lot. With people.”

Carmilla opened her eyes, but didn’t move. “I do.”

Laura waited for Carmilla to say something, anything, more. When it became clear that she wasn’t going to, Laura felt something inside her chest twist uncomfortably. “Okay, well, I’m going to go check on LaFontaine.”

Laura jolted up to her feet and walked to the other side of the room where LaFontaine was monitoring Sergeant Lawrence.

Carmilla watched her go silently.

\---

Laura walked down the side of the lab, her fingertips skipping along the counter as she took in the feel of her dad’s lab. Even though he’d made her promise to come here if anything went wrong she hadn’t spent a lot of time down here. The room reminded her of emergency drills and long speeches about safety and how to identify a threat. But she could sense her dad here, his presence was palpable. She ran her fingers over the stained lab coat hanging on the wall, hovering over a jaggedly mended button hole that she’d watched him sew.

She’d never imagined she’d come back here, not since she had moved out for college. She had never been a fan of this place but now... Now she ached for it, for him, for the very real piece of himself that he’d built into the walls.

She traced the stitching, nail skating over the thread as if that would bring her closer to him somehow. As if following a path he’d once treaded could do that.

She sighed and moved away from the coat. This place was full of memories, a place frozen in time, but now it was very much a part of her present. Their present, she corrected herself.

Perry had relegated herself to the small kitchen, vowing to make the most of the canned goods in the pantry to cook them a decent meal. LaFontaine was pouring over some of the journals that her dad had left, devouring the documented experiments at an alarming rate. Danny was still unconscious on the cot, now hooked up to a heart rate monitor that let out a steady beep that would have been reassuring to Laura just a few weeks ago, but now felt ominous. And Carmilla...

Carmilla was finally asleep. The fluid output had slowed and LaFontaine promised to stitch her back up once she was awake again. Laura didn’t know how she felt about the agent right now; it was a mix of hurt, jealousy and deep guilt from taking those emotions out on her. Laura had to have known; Carmilla was a secret agent - of course the flirting had meant nothing.

Laura felt like such a teenager about the whole thing, and it was maddening. The chances of them dying were so high right now, and Laura was thinking about whether or not some girl had a thing for her?

It was _humiliating_.

And the way that she reacted, treating Carmilla like that and Carmilla noticing? She had turned into those entitled teenage boys that she hated, and it made her feel gross right to her core. She should apologise when Carmilla woke up.

She pictured it - her saying sorry for how she’d acted, Carmilla smirking and having some teasing yet somehow super sexy response. Ugh, okay, that was worse.

She rolled her eyes. She’d figure this out when Carmilla woke up. There were bigger things to deal with right now.

She walked over to where the agent was sleeping and ran a gentle hand over Carmilla’s arm. Thankfully, the agent looked like she was sleeping far more peacefully than she had in the car. Without pausing to consider the feeling behind it, Laura leaned down and brushed her lips against Carmilla’s forehead, so lightly that even she could barely feel it. She considered saying something, some nice or poetic or kind thing that might make its way into the agent’s dreams but she decided against it. She didn’t want to risk disturbing her.

\---

Laura leaned forward, squinting at the card with LaFontaine. From her angle the magnifying glass was too tilted so she couldn’t see the writing, but she still looked at it as if she could. “What do you mean it’s not the formula?”

“Look see here, the-” LaFontaine stopped themselves as they realised that Laura couldn’t see - as well as Laura’s absent expression anytime anything vaguely scientific came up. Instead, they offered, “I don’t know the formula, but I know enough about it. This isn’t it.” They leaned forward, silently mouthing things to themselves. “I think this is the antidote,” they murmured into the table as they continued to examine it.

“Antidote?” Laura echoed disbelievingly.

LaFontaine leaned back, blinking and stretching out their spine. “I mean I need to do a tonne more research and probably some testing, but yeah.”

“So,” Laura started slowly, “it would reverse...” She gestured to her body, flourishing her hand up and down.

“ _Hypothetically_ ,” Laf stressed carefully, “yes.”

Laura sat down on the stool next to LaFontaine. “Whoa.”

“Whoa is right,” they agreed.

Before Laura could think about what this meant, Danny’s heart rate monitor spiked suddenly, setting off an alarm tone. LaF scrambled over to the other side of the room to check on the Sergeant.

Laura stayed there for an extra moment, staring at the card and the magnifying glass that had fallen onto its corner.

There was a shout from the corner and Laura’s eyes snapped up to see LaFontaine trying to get Danny to lie back down, but being thrown aside by the Sergeant. She grabbed her handgun off the counter and ran over to the corner, throwing herself on top of the soldier and pinning her to the cot.

The Sergeant bellowed, and threw Laura so hard that she went flying. She crashed into the middle bench, wincing as the lip of the table hit her in the middle of the back. She got to her feet quickly, aiming her gun at the Sergeant who had now taken on a decidedly green tinge.

“Danny, _no_!” LaFontaine yelled desperately.

There was a crash of metal at the other end of the lab where the kitchen was, and Danny’s attention snapped to there, a growl growing in her throat as she glared at the petrified looking Perry.

Everyone froze as the saucepan that Perry had dropped continued to clatter, circling around faster and faster until it finally settled with a distinctly final clunk.

Danny’s eyes narrowed, her skin returning to its normal pale colour as she looked around the room, the dangerous look still not leaving her eyes but just the smallest fraction of tension easing from her muscles.

“Someone better explain what the hell is going on.”

“Calm down, Cujo,” Carmilla croaked from the bench behind Laura. She sat up and glowered at Danny. “Some of us are trying to recover from the last time you went Super Saiyan.”

With a growl so loud that it made the room shake, Danny leapt at Carmilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	14. Chapter 14

Danny leapt at Carmilla, but as she passed over Laura’s head, Laura reached up and grabbed her by the leg, redirecting her momentum and sending her flying back. Danny collided with the wall, sending a spray of cement brick dust into the air. Danny fell to her knees and Laura rushed forward, grabbing her by the throat and pressing the muzzle of her gun to Danny’s eye.

Which would have looked a lot more threatening if Laura wasn’t the same height as Danny was on her knees.

Danny made a series of frustrated grunts and snorts, snarling up at Laura. Laura couldn’t tell if she was fighting to transition, or fighting to control it, but either way she was prepared to fire her gun the second it happened.

“Sergeant,” LaFontaine moved into Danny’s field of vision, hands up and expression pleading, “stop.”

Danny looked over with her one free eye and started, as if she had only just recognised them. The last of the green sapped from her face. “LaFontaine?” Her expression hardened again. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“They didn’t hurt me, they’re not the traitors. They rescued me.”

Something flickered over Danny’s face, her eyes jumping from LaF, to Carmilla, then to Laura. When her eyes finally returned to LaFontaine, they were dark. “They turned you.” She scowled. “What is it with you scientists? You have no loyalty.”

Laura caught the insinuation behind Danny’s words, that her father had been a traitor, and a sudden icy flare of rage shot down her spine. She didn’t realise that she was pressing forward with the gun until Danny’s head was tilted up to the ceiling in an effort to move away from the muzzle of the gun. Laura pulled back enough that Danny could return her head to a normal angle, and ignored the wary look Danny gave her.

“We’re not traitors,” Carmilla drawled from behind Laura, sounding entirely uninterested in this conversation. “The Major is.”

“Wow,” Danny replied, bitingly sarcastic. “If you want to use a scapegoat maybe pick someone more believable.”

“Are you naturally this thick or do you put effort into it?” Carmilla asked, and by her tone it almost sounded like a genuine question.

Danny tried to lunge for the agent but Laura braced herself, digging her feet into the ground so she could shove Danny back against the wall. Laura struggled, feeling the power of the Sergeant start to grow.

“Carm,” she said, her voice straining with how much effort she was putting into holding Danny there.

Carmilla let out a sound between a sigh and a groan. “Echo Delta Alfa Zulu Echo Unaone Terrathree Soxisix.”

Danny stopped. She stopped pushing forward, she stopped growling in the back of her throat, she stopped struggling to keep her breathing even - she stopped.

Instead of the rage that had been filling her face, now there was only defeat.

“Let her go.”

Laura stared at Carmilla over her shoulder. “What?”

Carmilla nodded, and if Laura didn’t know better she could have sworn that she saw a reflection of Danny’s defeat in Carmilla’s face. “It’s okay.”

Laura slowly backed off the Sergeant, keeping a close eye on her in case she tried to attack again. Laura kept her gun raised, her free hand moving to steady the grip. If it came to it she wouldn’t miss this time.

Except it seemed to be for nothing, because Danny simply stayed there, kneeling in front of the wall. The only move she made was to bow her head, until finally she looked up again and asked quietly, “So what’s the plan?”

\---

Carmilla stared straight ahead as LaFontaine removed her chest tube, her face not showing even the barest flicker of a reaction. Laura watched the tube slip out and her stomach twisted uncomfortably, so she fixed her eyes on the agent’s face instead.

“What was that thing you said to Danny?” she asked, desperate not to think about the plastic tubing being removed from Carmilla’s body.

“Code,” Carmilla answered bluntly. Her eyes dropped to Laura’s face and it softened, the aloofness slipping and an edge of pain coming through. “I know the director of the agency. She has a unique code with every solider she trusts. It lets them know when the order’s coming straight from the top.” Carmilla’s gaze went to Danny, who was sitting on the cot in the corner silently. “And Sergeant Anger Management over there was meant to take the, well...” Something crossed Carmilla’s face and she muttered, “I guess now she has.”

“The serum?”

“She didn’t take the serum,” LaFontaine spoke up as they applied the airtight dressing to Carmilla’s side.

“Oh so the turning into a huge green monster thing was, what, the lighting?” Carmilla asked flatly.

“No, I mean...” LaFontaine rolled their chair back to the bin, dumping everything in there. “I did the best I could, but what I gave her, how she reacted... It’s nothing like Dr Hollis’ serum.”

The three of them stayed in silence for a moment until Carmilla broke it with a, “Well, _duh_ , but thanks for the ominous addition to the conversation.”

“Do you think there’s a way we could reverse it?” Laura asked, leaning forward and saying meaningfully, “You know, an _antidote_?”

LaFontaine and Laura shared a look while Carmilla eyed Danny down. Perry was now cautiously offering forward a bowl of baked beans, careful to keep at an arm’s length from the Sergeant.

“Are we assuming she’d want that?” Carmilla asked as Danny accepted the bowl with a contrite look.

“Does it matter what she wants?” LaFontaine asked and off the other two’s expressions they continued defensively, “What? I’m just saying. From all the tests I saw, she turns into a total X factor and if you guys are going to try and take on some super secret, super dangerous, super evil secret organisation then won’t she be more of a liability?”

Carmilla didn’t say anything, just looked back over to where Perry was trying to engage the Sergeant in conversation and clearly struggling.

“Maybe we should figure out, you know, if we _can_ do it. Before we talk about if we should,” Laura suggested weakly.

LaFontaine shrugged and went back over to where the card Laura’s dad had given her was, readying themselves to start pulling apart the serum they’d treated Danny with, and what it would take to reverse the process.

“What do you think we should do?” Laura asked Carmilla, her voice worn with tiredness. She didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know what was happening, or what to do next, and she couldn’t stop feeling like she was ruining everything because of it.

Carmilla regarded her, a look in her eyes that Laura couldn’t even start to decipher. It was the most guarded look she’d given Laura in a long time, and Laura couldn’t help but feel like that was her fault. For how she’d acted before, for the stupidity of her jealousness.

She opened her mouth to apologise, even though she knew Carmilla would most likely say something that would make her regret it, but Carmilla spoke first, “Trust your gut.”

Laura’s thought process derailed completely at that simple sentence. Of all the things she’d expected to come out of the agent’s mouth that hadn’t been anywhere on the list.

Off Laura’s confusion, Carmilla explained, “Frankenstein’s just keen for a lab rat, the Sergeant would march off a cliff if ordered to, and Red’s like a more boring version of Martha Stewart. You’re the sanest here.”

“What about you?”

Carmilla grimaced and for a moment Laura was struck by how honest of a reaction it was. “I’m sticking with my answer, cupcake.”

Carmilla got to her feet and started to carefully twist and test her body movements with the dressing. Laura’s eyes fell to the makeshift tear down the side of her shirt, from the armhole down to her waist. The insertion site had meant Carmilla had had to remove her bra, and off the discomfort of everyone else she had rolled her eyes, and made the rip so that she wouldn’t - in her words - ‘offend their puritanical sensibilities’.

On any other occasion seeing the agent in a shirt with a long rip down the side, and nothing but skin underneath, Laura probably would have... well, the emergency lab shower would have had to do. But right now she couldn’t take her eyes off the dressing, and it made her stomach flip nauseously.

Danny had done that. Without even trying she had collapsed the agent’s lung. There was no doubt that the Sergeant was dangerous, and LaFontaine was right, she was a liability. And yet...

Without saying anything Laura went over to the cot Danny was sitting on. At Laura’s appearance, Perry practically fled back to the kitchen and Danny looked up at Laura with a barely restrained defiance. After Carmilla had given her the code the Sergeant had - for lack of a better term - fallen into line. However, when it became clear that Carmilla was following Laura, the Sergeant had been less than thrilled.

“Boot,” Danny spat out like it was a dirty word. Laura resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she ignored the venom in her tone.

“Can you control yourself when you’re...” Laura waved her hand vaguely.

“Green?” Danny finished. Laura nodded and Danny gave a shrug. “I have basic instincts. But it’s not...” Danny looked distinctly uncomfortable with the topic of conversation and set the bowl of food aside, running her palms down her legs. “It’s not, really, me. I mean I still _know_ what I know, but-”

“Everything’s smaller?” Laura offered. She grimaced, cheekbones colouring lightly before correcting herself, “I mean, like, less shades of grey, more black and white?”

Danny nodded curtly.

“Do you remember what happens during?”

Danny’s eyes went to Carmilla, who was methodically disassembling and reassembling a gun.

“Parts,” Danny finally replied, but the look on her face made Laura doubt how true that was.

“Do you...?” Laura paused, unsure of how to word the question in a way that wouldn’t offend the Sergeant.

“Spit it out, Hollis.”

“Do you like it?”

“What, like, is it a hobby of mine?” Danny asked bitingly.

“No,” Laura pulled a face, “I mean, if we found a way to change it, to reverse it... Would you want to?”

Danny regarded her, and for once it wasn’t distaste in her face, it was surprise. “You’re giving me a choice?”

“Of course.”

Danny continued to regard her for another second before dropping her gaze, knotting her fingers together in her lap and twisting them against each other. The muscle in her jaw twitched (Laura calculated how quickly she could get to the closest gun), and then she looked back up and shook her head. “I’m good.”

Laura’s surprise must have been obvious, because Danny gave a wry smile.

“There’s a reason I got the serum. Apart from taking you on. There are things that...” Danny shook her head, instead saying, “But, thank you.”

Laura almost asked after what Danny was talking about before, but stopped herself. The Sergeant had given her more than she ever would have expected, and she didn’t want to push it any further.

“Hey,” Laura shrugged, “as long as we’re on the same side.”

Danny considered her carefully before finally offering what could have been, if not the beginning of a smile, then a certain _softness,_ in her eyes. “Just point me at the bad guys and don’t get in my way.”

Laura gave a single bark of a laugh, unsure if it was a joke or not. When Danny’s eyebrow raised and the corner of her lip curled up, Laura relaxed and gave a more genuine smile.

“Right,” Laura mimed a punch and said in a deep voice, “Danny smash!” then laughed heartily.

At least, until she noticed Danny’s half-puzzled, half-incredulous expression and Laura’s laughter trailed off to awkward chuckles.

Laura cleared her throat and nodded. “Anyways, cool. Good talk.”

She quickly joined Perry in the kitchen, feigning a sudden interest in tinned corn. Sergeant Lawrence’s eyes followed her as she went before her attention returned to her food.

She got two mouthfuls in before Carmilla appeared in front of her.

“We need to talk, Agent Orange.”

Without missing a beat, or looking up from her meal, Danny replied dryly, “It’s Sergeant Orange, and let me finish my meal first, Karnstein.”

Carmilla stepped closer and said darkly, “This is more important than beans, Sergeant.”

From the far end of the room, Laura watched the two interact with suspicious eyes. They seemed to be fairly civil, but she wouldn't be surprised if it was all a front as they sniped at each other.

“Are you alright, Laura honey?” Perry asked, frowning concernedly over her pot of mixed tinned ingredients.

Tearing her eyes away from Danny and Carmilla, she nodded absently and quickly offered to help with the cooking. At least this was something she could do without worrying about people dying or getting hurt or the world ending or something.

By the time dinner - which was really just a stew of various ingredients - had been made, Carmilla had retreated to the other corner, Danny was sitting cross-legged on the cot with her eyes closed, and LaFontaine was scribbling madly on a ream of paper. Perry took hers and LaF’s bowl over to them, nudging them into eating and drawing them out of their writing to instead talk to her about any ideas they had. Given Danny had already eaten, Laura took a bowl over to Carmilla.

Carmilla was reading through the well-thumbed copy of ‘The Art of War’, a book that Laura’s grandfather had given her father, and one that he had a love-hate relationship with (from what she’d gathered, that relationship had extended to his father).

Laura deposited the bowl at Carmilla’s elbow, dragging a chair over to eat at the counter, while trying not to seem too eager for attention. Laura snuck a few looks over at the agent between mouthfuls, but Carmilla looked truly invested in the book.

“Your dad has good taste.”

Laura swallowed quickly, and more noisily than she’d like. “Have you read it before?”

Carmilla let out an amused snicker before looking at Laura over the book and seeing the polite, expectant look on her face. She swallowed her smirk and replied, “It was kind of required reading.”

Laura frowned slightly, remembering the question Carmilla had asked at the Kirsch’s house about what school and college had been like. “I thought you didn’t...” Realising she might be overstepping, Laura stopped herself. Instead, she tried a different tack, and used it as an opportunity to answer Carmilla’s earlier question. “My required readings were way more boring. More along the Kipling variety.”

“Black as the Pit, and terrible as a demon, was Bagheera,” Carmilla recited as she put the book down, and started to stir through the bowl.

“Another required reading?” Laura asked, more than a little impressed.

“No,” Carmilla replied with a small crook of a smile, “that one was choice.”

Laura watched Carmilla pick through the bowl, bringing her first, small spoonful to her mouth and blowing the steam away. It struck Laura how little she knew about the agent who was so ready to save her life - and who she was so ready to risk hers for. Carmilla’s eyes connected with hers over the spoon and Laura hastily busied herself with her own food, not daring to look up again until a half-minute later when Carmilla was carefully picking up the green beans in her food, placing them on the lip of the bowl, until her food was devoid of them. Once that was completed, she used her spoon to scoop up all the bits of corn until it was full of them, and ate those quite happily.

Laura looked down at her own bowl, and started to pick out her corn and dropped them into Carmilla’s without a word. She then took the green beans that Carmilla had cast aside and shovelled them onto her bowl.

When she looked up Carmilla looked both so happy and confused that Laura didn’t even care that she preferred corn over green beans.

\---

“I’m going with you.”

“Like hell you are, Big Red. I’ll let you know if I need any buildings levelled, but this is a finesse mission.”

“I can _do_ finesse.”

“I’m impressed you got that out with a straight face.”

Carmilla and Danny continued to argue amongst themselves as Laura shared a look with the other two redheads.

Carmilla had just called a ‘family meeting’ - something she’d said with as much sarcasm as she possibly could - and informed them that she and Laura would be going to visit an asset called Q so that she could get her tech fixed.

Danny had been less than thrilled about being left to babysit LaFontaine and Perry.

The tips of Danny’s ears had started to go a green tinge when LaFontaine stepped in. “We don’t need a babysitter.”

Danny gave Carmilla a triumphant look, but Carmilla ignored that as she said sharply, “I know you two want to play house together, but there is a very real chance that one of the many people looking for you will find you.”

“Actually,” LaFontaine seemed flustered by the idea but covered it quickly, “I was gonna say I was planning to visit my dad’s old workshop. I’ve been thinking about making a new suit and he’s got a lot of materials I could use there.”

Perry slipped her hand into LaFontaine’s at the mention of their father. Laura didn’t remember them ever mentioning their father before, but with a sudden realisation she asked, “Wait, is your father Howard LaFontaine?”

LaFontaine grimaced.

Laura couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Whoa.” She cleared her throat and quickly pulled herself away from the awed reaction to LaFontaine’s somewhat infamous heritage. “I had no idea.”

LaFontaine shrugged and stared at the ground.

Laura couldn’t blame them for their reaction, as a genius billionaire leading the arms industry Howard LaFontaine was both revered and despised - the answer depended on who you asked. His funeral a few years ago had drawn thousands and also attracted the largest protest of the year.

Laura hadn’t even known he’d had any children.

“So it’s settled,” Danny stated, barely able to hold the victory out of her tone. “We leave at 4am.”

Carmilla looked less than thrilled but she rolled her eyes and grunted, “Fine.”

“If you leave me behind, I will hunt you down,” Danny warned.

“Down Cujo.” Carmilla waved her aside. “If I left you behind then who would I annoy?”

Danny gritted her teeth and went back over to her cot without another word. Her departure seemed to signal the end of the meeting, because LaFontaine and Perry returned to the couch in between the kitchen and counter LaF had been working on. That left Laura and Carmilla.

Laura opened up one of the cupboards under the bench and took out a pillow and a blanket. When Carmilla raised an eyebrow Laura shrugged. “He spent a lot of time down here.”

Carmilla eyed Laura as she accepted the pile of bedding. Laura shifted away from her gaze, turning back to the cupboard and bringing out her blanket. When she was younger she used to curl up on the cot or the couch or even on the bench as he worked, and she’d never really moved the blanket back upstairs.

At first it was because she considered the Disney blanket too childish, and after she stopped caring about that, it was because she knew he missed her.

Laura sat down on the floor with her back leaning against the cupboard. After a moment of consideration, Carmilla joined her, sitting against the opposite cupboard so they were facing each other. They were close enough that they could feel each other’s body heat through the blankets, but not quite close enough to touch.

Laura tucked her blanket under her chin, revelling in the softness and familiarity of the blanket, and finally letting herself relax in one long exhale as she let her eyes close. The smell of this place, the memories; she let them wash over her instead of overwhelm her, and felt her heartbeat slow.

When she reopened her eyes she started at the sight of Carmilla looking right at her.

Laura was about to prompt Carmilla with a ‘what’ (it was debatable as to whether Carmilla would reply or not) when Carmilla asked, “Were you lonely?”

Laura felt her breath physically, _actually_ , catch in her throat, like something had lodged itself there, hard and unnameable.

Was she lonely?

She thought of camping outside under the stars with her father; of preparing her own dinner while not knowing the next time she’d see him; of him falling asleep ten minutes into the movie they were watching; of him threatening his company with quitting so that he could get the day off for her graduation; of him leaving right after the ceremony to go back to work.

“Were you?” Laura asked and to her it sounded like someone very far away and very quiet had asked it.

Carmilla didn’t answer.

Laura realised that Carmilla had shifted imperceptibly, because now Carmilla’s leg was pressed against hers, and even through the blankets it made Laura’s heart clench.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	15. Chapter 15

Danny leaned forward from the back seat, hands gripping the tops of Laura and Carmilla’s seats. “I don’t understand why you can’t just pull over and ask for directions.”

“Because, Agent Orange, we’re trying to be stealthy.”

“Better than wandering around aimlessly,” Danny stated pointedly before muttering, “and it’s _Sergeant_.”

Carmilla had surrendered the GPS to the scientists, not trusting that they’d be able to make their way to the Howard LaFontaine’s workshop without getting picked up by Corvae. Carmilla had said she knew the way to Q’s.

 _Said_.

After going up and down the same strip of highway three times Danny had lost her patience with the agent. (If the previous 12 hours of bickering could be called patience.)

Unfortunately, this was also Laura’s last straw with the two, as she burst out with, “That’s it! You,” she turned to glare at Danny, “sit back in your seat, fasten your seat belt and stop reacting to every tiny attempt to rile you up.” With a pout, Danny slowly obeyed, sliding back in her seat and inching her seat belt back on. Carmilla snickered as she watched her in the rear view mirror, until Laura set her attention on her darkly. “And _you_ , it’s your fault that we’re lost right now so either you find the way or we-”

“Found it,” Carmilla interrupted her, taking an exit smoothly. Laura pinned Carmilla with a suspicious look at her timing, but figured that as long as they got there who cared what her intentions were.

They continued along the street as it wound down to the coastal area, and after Laura’s annoyance and adrenaline subsided she realised that she’d yelled at the Sergeant and Carmilla. Her body heated up with that realisation and she quickly turned her face to the window, pretending to care about the view outside as she tried to force her body temperature back to normal.

Taking the lead when it came to the two independent, highly skilled women was intimidating but - Laura snuck a glance at both of them - they seemed to have fallen into it with surprising acceptance given how disdainfully they regarded the other.

Plus, Laura had never really been a leader. Sure, she was friendly, which made her semi-popular, and she’d been in the running for a few different leadership positions during school and college, but she’d always been beaten out by the more driven, the more experienced, the more... _intense._ And she hadn’t been planning to go to Law School or Med School, so she didn’t mind taking a backseat. (Even when she ended up running things behind the scenes because the elected leader didn’t know how to talk to people, or how to make the printer work, or how to convince the janitorial staff to let them in after hours.)

So, all in all, this was weird.

The beach came into view, revealing a long pier that protruded into the water, as well as the sun, full and bright in the blue sky. Laura wondered what it would be like to be coming here under different circumstances, with the only concern being if the weather would stay nice, or where the liquor store was, or if there’d be a food place within hangover travelling distance.

She looked back over at Carmilla as the agent pushed her hair out of her face, fingers dragging through the strands that were thrown about by the wind. The windows were all down, the car that Carmilla had _acquired_ for them after surrendering the other one to the scientists didn’t have working air-con and Laura suspected that was also to annoy the Sergeant who had to hide her sensitive, pale skin from the sun’s rays by sitting directly in the middle of the back seat.

And, with the crappy car; and the round, purple-lensed sunglasses that Carmilla had found in the glove box and tried to goad Danny into wearing before putting them on herself; and the sun that had already turned Laura’s legs a golden colour; Laura could almost pretend that this was another circumstance.

That is, until Danny piped up from the back seat, “What’s the plan once we get there?”

Laura left her daydream aside as they pulled off the road that ran parallel to the beach, heading up to the cliffside where the sand gave way to dark brown-green shrubbery.

“You stay in the car,” Carmilla replied.

“Stay in the car,” Danny echoed flatly.

“Yeah, you know, guard it.” She tilted her head and asked patronisingly, “You think you’re up for it?”

Danny let out a frustrated sound that was halfway between a grunt and a growl but didn’t say anything.

Carmilla was as surprised by Danny holding back as Laura was, because she added, “It’ll be quick.” Seemingly uncomfortable with the straightforwardness of her answer, she continued, “So, Cujo, if I come back to find you chewing the steering wheel I will be very disappointed.”

“I’m not a _dog_ ,” Danny exploded.

That was definitely the wrong reaction to have, because Carmilla just smirked and replied, “Down, girl.”

Before Danny could do anything in retaliation, Carmilla parked the car and jumped out. “Coming, creampuff?”

Laura threw an apologetic look over her shoulder at the fuming Sergeant before getting out of the car and following Carmilla to the secluded cottage on the cliff’s edge. It had white wooden panels, and a red tiled roof, along with a chimney. It looked adorable and quaint and not at all like it belonged to someone who made covert ops tech.

Carmilla rapped a rhythm on the door and waited for a moment, turning her ear towards the door. She seemed to be listening for something, so Laura did the same, and she heard mechanical whirring from behind the door. It clicked once, twice, and then stopped.

Carmilla sighed and knocked again, calling out, “The blue swallow flies at dawn and returns to nest at midnight.” She made eye contact with Laura and explained, “He’s old school. Ancient school, actually.”

The door opened - a little too ominously for Laura’s taste, given that it opened on its own and the inside was pitch black - and Carmilla pushed her way in with her usual casual disdain. Laura followed with more care, casting a look back at the Sergeant in the car and hoping that Carmilla hadn’t annoyed her enough that she wouldn’t come looking for them if they were missing too long.

Once Laura stepped into the pitch-black house the door closed behind her and she had to force herself not to jump at it. In the inky blackness of the house, she could hear and feel her breathing as if it was a physical presence weighing down on her. She’d never been in a room with such a complete absence of light before, and it wasn’t like she was afraid of the dark, but holy crap it was intense.

Something grabbed her hand and she swallowed a yelp as Carmilla’s scent ghosted over her face and she heard the agent’s breathing coming in shallow bursts next to her. Carmilla was holding her hand with a grip so strong Laura could feel her knuckles grind. Laura squeezed back gently and whispered, “Are you-?”

Lights flooded the room, illuminating what looked like an old cabin with the added feature of blinking and gently oscillating gadgets, as well as metal work casting an irregular netting across the wooden panelling and floorboards. Amongst all the tech on the walls were photos of landscapes, a dormant novelty singing fish, and various fishing gear. In front of them was a long wooden console table covered in photo frames - these were also landscapes, there were no portraits or people visible -, and it slid aside to reveal a set of concrete stairs going down.

An old man with wispy white hair hobbled up the stairs muttering to himself as he leaned heavily on his cane. He caught sight of them and smiled. “Ah, Agent Karnstein. It has been a long time since I saw you last.”

Carmilla nodded to the man as she slipped her hand out of Laura’s as gently as possible. “Sir.”

He eyed Laura keenly. “And who is this?” His age didn’t extend to his clear eyes, which were sharp as he studied her.

“Project Rebirth. The Hollis super soldier.”

“Ah!” He started forward with his hand held out. “Pleasure to meet you, Captain.”

Carmilla cleared her throat. “Actually, change of plans with that one. She’s not Lawrence.”

“I thought Danny was a Sergeant,” Laura whispered to Carmilla as the man kissed her knuckles.

“Serum came with a promotion,” Carmilla explained out of the corner of her mouth.

The man finally released her hand as he straightened up. “Well, I shall call you Captain regardless, I’m sure that you will earn it.” He winked at her and Laura gave a weak laugh and smile in return. He turned to Carmilla. “Now, Agent, what can I do for you?”

Carmilla brought out her broken watch and rattled off a series of inventory pieces she needed replenished.

“Very well, step into my office.” He chuckled to himself as he walked back downstairs.

“Come on, Cap.” Carmilla smirked at Laura, who was less than thrilled about the new nickname but accepted it regardless.

The basement level of Q’s house was surprisingly similar to the ground level. While most workstations that Laura had seen were tidy and sterile, this one was cluttered both with complex looking tech and random knick-knacks on the tables, walls, and even hanging from the low ceiling. The first thing she spotted after arriving on the bottom landing was a perpetually moving plastic drinking bird as it swung forward to dip its beak in the water.

Carmilla was more taken with the other pieces of hardware, the more complicated and deadly ones, as she sauntered over to Q’s workbench and picked through the half-pulled apart (or was it put together?) tech to pick up a palm-sized gun with a series of LED lights on the side that would have looked like a toy if it didn’t come from here.

“Now, Captain,” Q called over as he started to root through one of the many toolboxes in the room, “what else shall I call you?”

“I, uh-”

Without looking away from the gun Carmilla replied, “Laura Hollis.”

“Hollis,” he repeated slowly, as if rolling it around in his mind thoughtfully. “The Hollis soldier is a Hollis herself?” He turned his head, raising an eyebrow. “I never thought Dr Hollis was one for nepotism.”

Ignoring the nepotism comment, Laura asked, “You knew my dad?”

“Ah, by name only,” he replied and Laura tasted bitter disappointment on her tongue. “I have been retired for, what is it now, six years?” He frowned and raised his voice to ask, “Is it six years, Agent Karnstein?”

“Seven,” she corrected him mildly as she flicked the switch on the gun’s side.

“Seven!” He chuckled to himself. “My, my, time does fly.”

“If you’re retired then...” Laura looked around the workshop, which was definitely still in use.

“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop, Captain.” He finally emerged from his toolbox, holding something that looked like a reflex hammer except the triangle head was much smaller and had a pointed pin at the tip. “I might not be suited for the rigors of Quartermaster any longer, but my mind continues to work.” He went over to the part of the wooden bench closest to Laura, switching on the light that bordered a large magnifying glass, pulling it down so he could look through it at the watch. “Fortunately, Agent Karnstein seems to keep me quite occupied.”

He took the face off the watch, picking at the interior hardware nimbly. “I have always wished to meet your father, I’ve heard great things of his work. Is he still posted to Themyscira?”

The gun that Carmilla was playing with let off a small explosion, but before it could cause any damage, a reflective beam shot out of a dome in the top corner of the room, containing the blast until it folded in on itself and extinguished.

Q scratched his temple as he looked up from the magnifying glass and said, “Oh, Agent, some care with that one - the balance isn’t quite right yet.”

Carmilla placed it gingerly back on the bench. “What’s it meant to do?”

“Matter miniaturisation.”

“A shrink ray,” she stated incredulously.

“In layman’s terms, yes.”

Carmilla shook her head, moving onto a metal arm that hung down lifelessly from the ceiling, experimentally pulling at each finger.

The topic of Laura’s father seemed forgotten as Q started to ramble about Asimov’s writings and how he had failed to take the atom density of... Well, Laura sort of tuned out as she nodded and smiled. She caught Carmilla’s eye over what looked like a model airplane and Carmilla waved at her with the mechanical hand, before tugging at some of the machinery to bring the thumb down under the rest of the fingers, the fingertips bouncing up and down on it in a gesture that mocked Q’s enthusiastic talking.

Laura bit back a laugh and shook her head at Carmilla, who smirked and put the arm back. “So, how long will it take?”

“Erm...” Q seemed to struggle as he lost his train of thought on molecular structures and squinted up at the agent. “Well, the chip seems to be in pieces. Unsalvageable, unfortunately. Luckily for you I do have a spare one around here somewhere...” He trailed off as he scanned the room. “I will have to check the software, I discovered a bug with the last...”

“So...?” Carmilla prompted him gently.

“Just in time for dinner, I believe.” Something seemed to occur to him and he brightened. “You will be taking dinner with me, won’t you?”

Carmilla turned to Laura. “Depends on where the Captain would like to ‘take dinner’.”

The thought of a proper home cooked meal made Laura’s stomach respond with a gnawing pang, and she gave Q her most polite - and hopefully, least desperate - smile. “If we wouldn’t be imposing.”

“Imposing? Oh no, no, my dear Captain, it would be quite an honour.”

Which was how Laura, Carmilla, Danny and Q all ended up around his dinner table, crammed into an area that clearly didn’t have many visitors. He’d had to gather things into teetering piles and hastily put them aside, brushing off any attempts at help from the other three.

“Pass the salt,” Danny muttered. She had been less than thrilled about the length of their stopover, which hadn’t been helped when Q greeted her by calling her the ‘Captain not to be’.

“Pass the salt what?” Carmilla prompted her in a lilting voice.

“Pass the salt,” Danny repeated. Carmilla waited, salt in hand, and Danny made a face before muttering through gritted teeth, “Please.”

Deciding to ignore the ticking time bomb that _that_ was, Laura turned to Q and asked, “So, shrink ray? What made you want to make one of those?”

“Well, think of all the places you could go if you were small!” he exclaimed enthusiastically, waving his hands about as he started to explain a time when he was younger and would watch the ants on his front porch. Carmilla dodged each of his sweeping gestures with a bored, effortless grace. Laura couldn’t help but watch her do it and wondered how long she’d known him; if she’d known him before he’d retired then it was over seven years.

And again, the question of the agent’s age came back to Laura’s mind. If Carmilla had been tied to the government agency for that long...

Laura’s thought process was interrupted by Q getting up from the table, continuing to talk excitedly and she quickly tuned in to what he was saying to catch, “...and it’s made out of this metal that’s quite rare, I can’t tell you how I came across it of course, although I can tell you it may have had something to do with a friend in Africa.” He hobbled down the stairs and his voice started to fade away as he continued to talk. After a few minutes his voice came back into focus, “...he actually helped me with my theory on antimatter, which I would have probably come to on my own, but it really shaved a lot of time off my-”

“Q,” Carmilla reminded him.

“Ah! Of course.” He pulled out the thing he’d gotten from his workshop and held it forward to Laura with a proud smile. It was a circular piece of metal with graded tiers, and two leather straps secured to the back of it. It looked like a shield, but something about it seemed different in a way that Laura couldn’t quite put her finger on. She stood to take it, running her hands over the metal and trying to...

Was it _vibrating_? It seemed to hum under her skin, both hot and cold at the same time.

“It’s Vibranium,” Q explained, but the name meant nothing to Laura. “It is the strongest metal known to this planet and perhaps any other. It will absorb the vibrations in the vicinity, as well as any kinetic energy directed at it, storing it between the molecules and making it stronger.”

“Is there a limit?” Danny asked. Laura realised that the two at the table were leaning forward, their attention on the shield. Carmilla was better at hiding her interest than the Sergeant, but it was in her eyes, which went from the shield up to Laura and back again.

Q’s pride seemed to grow at the interest of the room and he shook his head. “If there is, I haven’t found it.”

“You should have it, Cap,” Carmilla said with a quiet reverence in her voice.

Danny whipped around to the agent and, without looking at her, Carmilla pointed out, “You’re bulletproof when you rage out. And I’m not a shield person.”

Unable to argue the point, the Sergeant turned back in her seat to take another forkful of her chicken with rough, irritated movements.

“Are you sure?” Laura asked Q, her fingers curling over the edges of the shield.

He smiled broadly and nodded. “Of course, Captain.”

(Laura felt the tension roll off Danny in waves.)

“Thank you.”

They left dinner soon after with several Tupperware containers of leftovers balanced on Laura’s new shield. Laura and Danny headed to the car while Carmilla stayed behind to talk to Q privately. Laura packed everything away in the car before standing to look towards the horizon, arms resting on the roof of the car as she squinted against the wind. The sun had almost fully set, and the previously cloudless sky now had a thick covering of clouds that picked out the various shades of red and orange as they splayed across the sky. The sound of waves crashing against the cliff whipped around her, noisy and yet quiet in a whole other way. Suddenly, she realised that the roaring wasn’t just the waves.

Laura shielded her eyes from the sun as she searched the fiery horizon. “Sergeant...”

Danny seemed to be suffering from a fresh bout of annoyance at Laura because she didn’t react until Laura spoke again and she turned in the back seat. “What is it, Hollis?”

“Do you hear that?”

Danny stood up, joining Laura in staring towards the horizon. “No, I-” She stopped dead still.

Carmilla farewelled Q, starting the walk back to the car as he closed the front door. She was halfway back to the car when a drone dropped out from the clouds and sent a missile directly at Q’s cabin.

Everything happened very quickly after that.

“Carm!” Laura screamed, grabbing the shield from the car and sprinting towards the agent, who had turned just as the missile hit the cabin. The flames burst out as Laura ran forward. _I’m not going to make it!_ her mind screamed.

A huge, green Sergeant Lawrence leapt over her, grabbing Laura and shoving her and Carmilla down to the floor as she shielded them with her body. Carmilla grunted as her still-healing side was thrown against Laura’s shield, but the Sergeant’s body kept them safe from the explosion.

The drone pulled back up into the clouds and Danny stood, her eyes searching the sky.

Carmilla held her side as she got to her knees. “It’ll come back,” she grunted as Laura helped her to her feet.

Danny seemed to agree, not taking her eyes off the clouds. Then, it swooped back down, and Danny took two huge, bounding steps that shook the ground before leaping up and grabbing the drone by the nose, causing it to dip down and dive towards the ground. She started to rip pieces off it, sending large panels of metal flying. Laura quickly guided Carmilla over to the car, holding the shield in front of them to protect them from the metre long shards.

As they got to the side of the car, there was another huge explosion, and the ground shook so violently that the car’s wheels bounced a solid inch into the air.

Laura peered over the hood of the car. Danny had her back to her, shoulders heaving and the remnants of metal and electrical wiring dangling from her hands. Feeling Laura’s gaze on her, Danny glared at her over her shoulder. Laura didn’t dare to break eye contact, but this time was different from the last time she’d seen Danny like this. This time, she could see Danny wrestle the anger down; the struggle that furrowed her eyebrows; the effort that laboured each breath.

Behind her, Carmilla got to her feet. “They’ll be back,” she said in the weariest voice that Laura had ever heard.

When Danny broke the eye contact, Laura saw that Carmilla was staring at the remains of Q’s cabin. It had been reduced to a hole in the ground, and Laura could feel emotion pouring off the agent, thick but indistinguishable.

Laura reached for the agent. “Carm...”

Carmilla shied away from her touch, turning and staring back down towards the beach town. “We need to go.” Without another word she got into the car, running her hands from the top of the steering wheel to the bottom.

Laura was torn. She ached to reach for the agent but the rejection sat as a lump in her throat. To give her hands something else to do, she gripped the shield tighter and looked at the Sergeant, who was now on her knees, leaning forward so that her fists were resting on the grass.

Laura watched as the last of the sun set behind the horizon and the Sergeant shrank back to her normal size. Danny got to her feet with a stumble, pulling at her clothing that had been ripped to tatters over her reliably still-intact black crop top and tights as she walked back to the car, and climbed into the back seat silently.

Laura cast one last look at the place where the cabin had been, feeling a cold chill pass over her, before getting into the car and clicking her seat belt into place. As Carmilla pulled back onto the road, Laura spotted the sunglasses on the dashboard, the frame snapped in two at the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	16. Chapter 16

Laura jerked awake from a dream about an earthquake to realise that the rumble of the ground ripping itself apart was actually Danny’s snores from the backseat. The car was stopped, the driver’s door wide open, and Carmilla was gone.

Laura snapped to, her hand going to the shield by her feet, although she realised a moment later a gun would probably be a better choice. She scanned the area around them; they were pulled to the side of the highway, surrounded by nothing except a smattering of trees, grass, and mountains in the distance.

Then she spotted her, a few metres away, standing in the grass and looking towards the mountains.

Laura tossed up whether or not to go to her and ended up unclicking her seatbelt, slowly walking towards the agent so she had plenty of time to tell Laura to leave. The agent didn’t move.

Laura stood next to Carmilla, but the agent still didn’t acknowledge her presence, so Laura just followed her gaze to where the thick blanket of stars met the line of the mountains.

“You can see so many stars out here.” The words grew into clouds in front of Laura’s mouth, swirling and rising to meet the night.

Carmilla didn’t reply but her face tipped up look to the sky, her eyes taking in the full, blinking night. She shivered, sending a puff of her breath into the air.

Laura shrugged off her jacket and offered it to Carmilla. When Carmilla simply stared at her, Laura explained, “You’re cold.”

“Aren’t you?” Carmilla asked, not taking the jacket.

Laura shrugged. “I don’t get cold anymore.”

“You don’t?” Carmilla asked, and if there’d be any emotion in it it would have been disbelief, but as it was it came out blank.

Laura shook her head and Carmilla finally accepted the jacket, pulling it on with sluggish movements.

The emotion that had previously been a tangible wall around Carmilla was gone. Replaced by nothingness, a complete absence that made Laura long to be shut out again. At least then Carmilla felt like a person. Now, she was little more than a shell.

“I’m sorry,” Laura said, because that was the only thing that came to mind and she had to say something. The words felt useless in her mouth, worth less than the effort taken to say them, but they still seemed marginally better than nothing. Even as the silence that met the words made them grow and grow between the two.

“He survived a lot of wars. He helped end a lot of them.” Carmilla paused. “They didn’t even send a manned vehicle. He got taken out by tech.” Carmilla scoffed sourly. “That’s the biggest insult they could have-” She cut herself off, clenching her jaw.

She pulled a silver flask out of her pocket, unscrewing the lid and holding it up to the sky. “Prost.”

She tipped some of it out onto the ground before taking a sip. She handed it to Laura, who copied Carmilla’s actions, before taking a sip of her own and hissing as the schnapps hit her like a wall to the face and made tears spring to her eyes. She spluttered, handing the flask back to Carmilla and thumping her fist to her chest. “That’s, uh, that’s potent.”

Carmilla screwed the flask shut with the ghost of a smile on her face. She weighed it in her hand for a moment, considering.

Laura stared as Carmilla dropped to her knees and started to rip at the ground with her fingers, tearing through the grass to the soil, and then digging through that as well. She dropped the flask into the hole she’d dug and Laura spotted the engraved Q in the corner before Carmilla started to cover the flask with dirt again, filling the hole and finally patting it smooth so that it was little more than a patch of dirt.

She stayed kneeling there and murmured something quietly, which Laura couldn’t help but catch the tail end of.

“...no more red on your ledger, old man.”

Carmilla pressed her palm into the dirt one last time before standing again. “All they’re going to bury at his grave is an empty casket and a flag,” she said, her voice quiet but strong, “he deserves more than that.”

Laura slipped her hand into Carmilla’s slowly, ready to pull away if Carmilla showed any sign of discomfort. Carmilla surprised her as she moved into it, locking their fingers and pressing their palms together. Laura felt the dirt squeeze between their hands, crumbling away and leaving a residue on their skin.

\---

“Where are we going?”

Laura knew that it was selfish, but she couldn’t help but feel more at ease with the agent after what had happened in the field.

Carmilla looked over at her, her face illuminated by the dash, and Laura couldn’t help but wonder if maybe - _maybe_ \- Carmilla felt it too. Instead of her usual dismissive reaction, she replied bluntly, “Nevada desert. The test sites.”

“The nuclear test sites?” Laura clarified, her eyebrows rising.

Carmilla nodded. “The very same.”

“That’s where Corvae are?”

Carmilla hummed in response, shrugging. “That’s what the intel says.”

“What are your orders this time?” When Carmilla looked at her out of the corner of her eyes, Laura added, “Last time it was all infiltrate and gather information. Is that-? Are we doing that this time?”

Carmilla stayed silent, the muscle in her jaw twitching, before she shook her head. “The Director took the attack on Q pretty personally.”

“Are you taking it, you know,” Laura’s voice dropped, “personally?”

“What is this, Twenty Questions?” Carmilla asked, but there was no sting to her voice. Before Laura could apologise, she replied, “In my line of work your chances of a natural death are slim to none. So you hope, you know? For it to be quick, to be relatively painless, to be breathing free air when it happens.” Carmilla paused. “I really thought he was going to get it. A natural death.” She shook her head. “I’m going to burn this place to the ground, but I’m going to do it because those are my orders, not because they deserve it.”

“I’m in,” came from the back.

Carmilla and Laura turned to where a no longer asleep Sergeant Lawrence was looking at them with a determined expression.

Instead of the taunting reply that Laura expected, Carmilla just looked vaguely approving as she shifted up a gear and accelerated down the highway.

\---

“I don’t understand why you won’t let me drive,” Danny remarked sourly.

The truce between the two had been short lived, with Carmilla falling back into the habit of provoking the Sergeant, but given everything Laura couldn’t help but feel relieved at the return to form.

“I liked you better when you were unconscious,” Carmilla fired back.

“It’s command policy that drivers switch off every-”

Carmilla eyed Danny through the rear view mirror. “You think we’re still under command policy, Agent Orange?”

There was a long pause. It was clear that Danny had thought that, but to give her credit, so had Laura. She had assumed that following orders from the Director meant things hadn’t changed; but now it couldn’t be more obvious that they were far, far away from Fort Themyscira and its protocols.

“We’re an hour out.” Carmilla’s voice softened as her eyes searched the highway ahead. “You two should try get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

The car was silent for the rest of the drive but neither of them slept.

An hour later, Carmilla brought up a map on her watch and studied it for a moment before flicking it away and bringing the car to a stop on the side of the road. Laura snapped out of her thoughts as the agent took the front and rear numberplates off the car and opened up the boot to get ready.

Danny climbed out of the back seat and joined Carmilla by the boot, and Laura could hear the sound of them trading weapons back and forth. She looked down at the shield, propped between her legs and the centre console. The lights under the plastic console cast a dim glow across the shield, which highlighted the colour contrasts.

She hadn’t put too much thought into the design of the front of the shield - the red, blue and white rings, and central white star was staunchly American. Laura had never been the most patriotic person, she was critical of many aspects of government, and she’d been disappointed more than a few times by the legal system. So, at first the resemblance to the flag had struck her as unusually derivative. But now, with the blue so dark it was almost black, the red a blazing stripe, and the white a shining glow, Laura felt like she understood it.

The flag, the rallying image, the power of having a symbol to stand for.

The representation not of what the country was; but of what the country could be, what the country wanted to be.

“Hey, Cap, you ready?” Carmilla called from behind the car.

Laura swallowed hard and grabbed the shield, going around to join them at the boot.

Laura geared up with the usual black ops suit complete with vest, holster and weapons. Danny was already ready, having ditched the ripped clothes for the black crop top and tights underneath, as well as a standard issue pack, strapped firmly to her back and a rifle over her shoulder. She had gotten impatient and was already scoping out the terrain from a few metres away.

It was 25 miles to the tunnel opening and then two more miles through the tunnels to the underground bunker, which meant they’d get there half an hour before sunrise and hopefully that would work to their advantage again.

“Look at you.”

Laura looked down at herself. She had no idea what Carmilla was talking about, she looked exactly the same as she always did. Well, with the addition of the shield strapped to her arm.

Carmilla smiled wryly. “Captain America.”

Laura half-laughed as her hand went to the shield. “What?”

“Seriously.” Carmilla nodded earnestly. “You look like you should be on a poster or something.”

Laura threw one of the ammunition clips at her. “Shut up.”

Carmilla laughed as she caught the clip, sliding it into a pocket on her belt. “You’d be perfect for one of those ‘We want YOU’ recruiting campaigns.”

Laura rolled her eyes but she held the shield up to her chest, pointing at Carmilla with a faux serious expression. Barely moving her lips so that she could keep up the serious expression she asked, “Would I make you want to join the army?”

Carmilla looked at her with something powerful in her eyes, but a split second later it faded to a deep warmth as she said in a low voice, “You have no idea.”

Laura couldn’t tell if Carmilla was joking or not so she laughed and dropped the shield. “Come on, Danny’s going to start yelling at us.”

Carmilla smirked. “Whatever you say, Cap.”

Laura ducked her head, her smile disappearing behind a curtain of her hair as they caught up with the Sergeant, who had climbed on top of one of the larger boulders to survey the landscape. As they approached Danny jumped off the boulder, landing solidly on the ground.

“I was about to send you two a written invitation,” Danny commented dryly.

“Oh, I’ll go back then,” Carmilla replied and Danny pulled a face. Carmilla just smiled sweetly in return and turned to Laura. “Shall we, Captain?”

With Carmilla and Danny both looking at her as if she was the one to look towards, Laura adjusted her grip on the shield and asked Danny, “You ready?”

She had been expecting some degree of hostility from the Sergeant at Carmilla calling her ‘Captain’, but instead Danny’s expression was sombre as she shifted the straps of the pack and nodded. “When you are.”

Laura nodded, pulled a breath of the freezing desert night air into her lungs, and cast one last look towards the now stripped and empty car. She turned to the direction that they were heading, swallowing down the feeling that she was leaving a part of herself behind.

“Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	17. Chapter 17

Laura had never been religious. Her father had firmly believed in the logic of science over the belief of faith, so she’d never had to go to church on Sunday and listen to a pastor try to spin the Bible into new lessons each week.

She had gone to her first, and only, service when she was seven years old. She’d spent Saturday night at her friend’s house and come Sunday morning her parents had asked Laura if she wanted to join them.

Intrigued by the foreign concept of something that so many of her friends were involved with, she had agreed and that was how she ended up sitting in one of the many pews of a church, her thighs sticking to the lacquered wood as sweat pooled under her legs.

The lesson that the pastor had chosen for that particular Sunday, perhaps because of the heat wave that had been sweeping the city, was of Jesus fasting for 40 days and nights in the desert. Laura had never been in the desert, but with the sun shining through the stained glass and directly onto the back of her neck, she had imagined it as the hottest, driest place her seven-year-old mind could imagine.

Now, in the 20th mile of the 25 mile journey, she could only think of how wrong she’d been. The air was dry, yes, and the ground crunched underfoot in a way that was nothing like stomping a dry leaf, but somehow still satisfying, but hot? No.

With over an hour left until sunrise, the climate felt closer to arctic than desert. While the cold didn’t bother her anymore, she could still feel the chill in each breath as it filled her lungs. She pictured the air as being filled with tiny particles of ice, rubbing her insides raw.

Her mind had wandered a lot through the jog.

To credit the other two, they had kept up with her pace so far. In fact, the Sergeant seemed to have improved her fitness since taking Lafontaine’s serum, and was hardly struggling at all, while Carmilla did her usual show of hiding any sign of difficulty. Laura eased up anyway, they were making good time and it wouldn’t make any sense to go into this exhausted.

She found herself thinking of her dad’s reaction to when she’d come home from the church service. He hadn’t said anything bad about it, he hadn’t even looked disappointed, he had seemed genuinely interested in her opinion. She told him that it was hot, and she didn’t know why they even had churches if God was meant to be able to see everything anyway.

She’d never forget his reaction; he’d told her that people needed a place to feel safe. For some people that was their home, for others it was their family, and for some it was the stone walls of the church.

Laura had thought about it, wondering if she’d felt safe in the church, but then he’d suggested getting some ice cream to cool off and she hadn’t thought about it again.

At least, until now.

The arch of her foot landed on a rock, throwing off her footing slightly and turning her ankle at an angle, but she recovered the step quickly.

“You okay?” Carmilla asked, her voice roughened by her breathing.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Laura replied, making sure that each step she made from then on was sure and firm against the ground.

His words echoed in her head again, this time coupled with the simple message on the card - _be safe_.

And here she was, charging headfirst towards danger. But the thing was, with Carmilla and Danny by her side she had never felt safer.

\---

They were stopped in front of the opening for the tunnel, a round metal door with a fine dusting of rust embedded into a rock face. Danny was leaning against the rock face, drinking mouthfuls of water in short, measured bursts, and Carmilla was fiddling with her watch. A hologram leapt up from her watch, except this one looked different from the last - it was larger, more solid, and instead of green lines it was mostly blue with other colours highlighting different areas.

Laura watched the map with interest, but her eyes kept going past it, to Carmilla’s face. Now that the watch was the last thing Carmilla would have from Q, it made sense that it would hold huge importance to the agent, but Laura didn’t know if it would be good or bad. From the hard pull of Carmilla’s mouth, it seemed that she didn’t know either.

Danny nodded towards the map. “How much intel do we have on the interior?” She offered the water canteen to Carmilla, who took a few quick sips before passing it to Laura.

“Not a lot.” Carmilla pulled the bunker part of the map closer, which had an outline of the schematics but was fainter than the rest of the map. “This is the original build of the bunker, but the blueprints are from the sixties, so everything might have changed since.”

Danny eyed the map. “Seriously?”

“Hey, if this is too tough for you Xena, you can leave.”

Danny scowled and snatched the canteen back from Laura, hard enough that the leftover water sloshed loudly against the inside. As she screwed the lid back on she muttered, “ _Sorry_ for not wanting to go in blind.”

“This isn’t your standard fare mission.” Carmilla snapped the map back into her watch. “There’s no one on the radio to pull us out if things get bad.”

“I _know_ that,” Danny snarled.

“You sure about that?” Carmilla asked, but instead of her usual maddening, teasing tone, her voice was uncharacteristically demanding. “Because I don’t want you getting cold feet in there.”

“Fuck you, Karnstein.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Laura quickly stepped between the two with her hands up, positioning herself to try and break their eye contact. “Both of you, cool it!”

Carmilla was the first to drop her eyes from Danny’s, her gaze falling to Laura. The anger, built from something that felt more like the iciness of fear than the heat of rage, dissipated from her eyes and she nodded slightly. Laura then fixed her attention on Danny, who squared off her jaw and also nodded.

“Okay.” Laura let out a breath. “Good. Now”–she made sure to maintain eye contact with Danny–“I know this is your first mission like this. I know this doesn’t come under any of your training, and that this probably breaks a thousand rules, and I know that’s tough. But Carmilla has done this a million times, and she knows what she’s doing.” Laura paused and asked Carmilla out of the corner of her mouth, “Right?”

“Pretty much,” Carmilla replied, somehow both bored and cocky at the same time.

“Plus,” Laura continued as she offered Danny a meek grin, “if anything goes wrong you can just go all green and smashy.”

“Danny smash,” Danny recalled with a hint of a smile. “Right.”

From behind Laura, Carmilla coughed a laugh and smirked widely. “I’m sorry, _what_ was that?”

“And _you_.” Laura rounded on Carmilla, holding her forefinger in her face. “You need to stop being an ass and remember what it was like your first time.”

Carmilla raised an eyebrow and leered. “Oh, I remember my first time.”

Laura blushed and rolled her eyes. “First _mission_.”

Carmilla’s leer stayed for an extra moment before she dropped it with a sigh. “Fine.”

Pleased with the talking to that Carmilla got, Danny went over to the door and gripped the spokes of the huge rusted metal wheel, digging her heels in to get enough leverage to try and pull it open. Once Danny was out of earshot, Laura leaned in and said quietly, “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

Carmilla side-eyed her with a surprised, yet utterly charmed expression on her face. “Don’t apologise, you were great.” She winked at Laura and went over to help the Sergeant with the wheel.

Laura had to desperately try to slow her heartbeat, blinking her pupils back to normal, before joining them by the door and yanking the wheel around with a single, sharp tug.

The door yawned open, a rush of stale air rising to meet them from the pitch black tunnel. It smelled like dirt, and damp concrete, and something thick and metallic that made the bile rise in Laura’s throat.

They stood at the opening like that for a moment, none of them saying anything. Until Carmilla waved her hand to the tunnel, turning to Danny. “Redheads first.”

The scowl returning to her face, Danny jammed her night vision goggles on and started down the tunnel. Carmilla and Laura followed suit shortly after, Laura wearing the goggles that she’d packed into her vest.

Even super soldier night vision couldn’t accommodate for the pitch black emptiness of the underground.

Progress through the tunnels was slower than any of them predicted. At parts of the tunnel the thick metal support beams had bent under the weight of the earth, and it had caused dirt to spill from the walls. Sometimes it was just an uneven spray across the ground - like a leak frozen in time - but a mile in they found that it had caused a complete blockage.

Danny glared at the solid wall of dirt, hands on her hips. Carmilla had used her watch to cast a dim glow across the dirt, and was looking at it with a daunted expression. Laura noticed that she was very carefully avoiding touching the dirt, or getting too close to it.

“Can we dig through?” Laura asked, testing it by poking it and watching the grains of dirt shift and tumble.

“We have to,” Carmilla replied in a strained, low voice. “This is the only way in that isn’t full of tech. We take any other way and they’ll see us coming a mile off.”

Danny nodded, brushing off her palms. “So we dig.” She went up to the wall of dirt and started to claw at it, pulling handfuls of dirt away from the top left corner, causing dirt to fly through the air back at the other two.

Carmilla scowled as she turned her face from the flecks of dirt, but for some reason Laura felt the pull to step closer to the agent. Maybe it was something in her voice, or in the way her fists were clenched by her sides, but either way Laura was trying to come up with the way to word her concern when Danny climbed up into the space she’d dug free and looked over her shoulder at them.

“Are you coming?”

Carmilla waved Laura ahead. “You first.”

Laura hesitated, she could see the agent’s nostrils flaring and the sound of her breathing had picked up, but when the agent waved her forward again, Laura obeyed and strapped the shield to her back, and climbed up into the gap behind the Sergeant.

The wide opening of the path the Sergeant had dug narrowed quickly, so before she pushed herself fully into the black, she glanced back over her shoulder to where Carmilla was standing in the tunnel with her fists clenched, nostrils flaring, eyes blinking, surrounded by the gentle glow from her watch. She saw Carmilla steel herself deliberately before climbing in behind them, the glow bouncing crazily off the walls before settling into the dirt hole that the Sergeant had carved out.

Crawling through the dirt was a suffocating experience beyond anything that Laura had ever felt before. It made her think of when she had almost drowned at ten years old. It was summer break, she’d gone to the pool with her neighbours family, racing against the boy a year younger than her and crowing her victory when she’d beaten him and, so, earned dibs on the coveted deck chair. He’d slinked off somewhere, scowling heavily, so she’d gone into the pool alone. With her small size, she’d been impossible to spot when she’d gotten caught in the middle of a group of rowdy teenagers splashing each other.

Every time she’d surface, she would get another faceful of water, so that she was swallowing, breathing, and gagging on water. The chilling realisation that she would die felt like a bolt through her body, and it made her flail harder, but it also felt like the realest, thickest, heaviest feeling that she’d ever felt in her short life.

She was feeling it again now, deep in her gut. It swirled like a storm of dread, driving her stomach acid against the lining and making her taste her heartbeat.

 _No_. Now was not the time for this. She focused on the Sergeant in front of her, on the shadows that Carmilla’s watch was casting from behind her, on dragging in deep, full breaths through her nose and releasing them out through her mouth. She dug her fingers through the dirt as she crawled. She was _fine_ , she was on land, she was _fine_.

The sound of breathing filled the small space she was crawling through and she held her breath. She couldn’t deal with sound as well as the dirt right now, it was too much, it was _too much_.

Then she realised that the sound of loud and fast breathing wasn’t coming from her. It was coming from behind her.

“Carm?” she asked, and the taste of dirt covered her tongue.

The only response was harder breathing, each inhale edged with a desperate crack.

Laura could see that the path ahead of her opened to the other side of this dirt wall, there was only an extra metre or two of crawling and she’d be free. They’d be free.

Danny had already emerged on the other end, disappearing from sight.

“Hollis?” Danny’s voice trailed through the dirt. “Everything alright?”

Laura opened her mouth to reply and again dirt on her tongue, not actual dirt, but the taste so strong it may as well have been. She asked again, with a voice full of dirt and metal, “Carm?”

She felt a hand grab her leg and squeeze. Once, twice.

Laura tried to spin, to look behind her, but the dirt was too close, too heavy, too much. Even the smallest of moves made it shift, filling the empty space from the side. The exit that Danny had pulled open was starting to close.

Laura couldn’t help but feel like if she spoke too loudly everything would close in on them, and she told herself that that was the reason why her voice came out as a bare whisper as she asked, “Are you okay?” After quick consideration she added, “Squeeze once for yes, and twice for no.”

Squeeze.

Squeeze.

Twice.

“Okay, Carm, I’m going to get out of this for two seconds so I can turn around and come and get you okay? I promise I will be right back,” Laura promised, and her mouth was free of dirt. There was no response and Laura repeated, “I promise.”

Then, one squeeze.

Laura shuffled forward with her elbows and hands as quickly as she could, making sure to keep her legs as still as possible behind her, but she could still feel the dirt shift behind her. ( _No!_ her mind screamed.) Finally she reached the edge of the dirt and practically fell headfirst out of it, to Danny’s shock.

“Are you okay?”

Laura nodded quickly, before climbing back into the hole, digging her way through to Carmilla with nothing in her head except for reaching the agent. Her fingers scrabbled through the dirt until they hit warm, soft, _Carmilla-_

Laura closed her eyes in relief as she tightened her grip on Carmilla’s hand. She manoeuvred herself through with the rest of her body, not wanting to let go of the agent’s hand. She ended up face to face with the agent, who had barely made it at all into the dirt and was staring down at her hands with an absent look as her entire body shook with her breathing.

“Carm.”

The agent didn’t look up.

 _Shit_.

Laura searched her mind quickly. “I stole a pack of gum when I was in middle school.”

Carmilla’s hand twitched.

Laura continued, “I don’t know why I stole it, it was only fifty cents and I had the money, and I didn’t even _like_ that brand of gum. I was in a convenience store, a store I always went to on my way home from school, and I just slipped it into my pocket. I ran all the way home and I couldn’t eat the gum, I couldn’t even _look_ at it, but I couldn’t throw it out so I ended up burying it in my desk drawers. I didn’t go back to that store for two years, I didn’t even take that _street_ anymore, I’d take the long way around even though it took twenty minutes longer. When I finally went back they’d closed down. I forgot about it until I was leaving for college, and I was cleaning out my drawers and I found the gum. The colouring had leaked through the packet and it felt weirdly moist, but I still couldn’t bring myself to throw it out. It was Wrigley’s Spearmint. I’m pretty sure it’s still there.”

“You stole a pack of gum?” Carmilla asked, her voice cracking and faint.

Laura shrugged and smiled sheepishly. Carmilla’s eyes finally rose to meet hers, and Laura felt like her lungs had been filled with oxygen again.

“I didn’t know you were a criminal,” Carmilla accused her lightly, and Laura could hear the teasing tone that would have been there if Carmilla had the energy.

“Don’t tell anyone?”

Carmilla didn’t reply out loud, but there was enough of a reply in the relief in her eyes.

“I’m going to pull you through this, okay? I’m right here.”

Carmilla’s grip on Laura tightened.

Laura squeezed back. “Right here.”

Laura started to shuffle back, and the dirt around them shifted. Carmilla’s grip on Laura turned into a vice.

Laura stopped and waited for the agent to say or do something, studying her face carefully for any sign of something.

Through gritted teeth Carmilla managed to shove out the word, “Talk.” She swallowed thickly. “Please.”

Laura quickly hunted for something to say, something small and meaningless and detail-filled, for the agent.

“I repeated the second grade. My appendix burst and I had to be rushed to the hospital and I almost died and then I missed like a whole bunch of school so they made me repeat it.”

Laura started to shuffle back again, shifting Carmilla bit by bit with her as she continued to speak.

“It burst because I was busy playing this game and I really wanted to finish it and I knew that if I told my dad that I was in pain he’d make me stop and I didn’t want to because I was _so_ close to the end. By the time my dad found me, I was lying on the ground, almost passed out, but I was still playing the game.”

Laura felt her toes hit the end of the dirt. She shuffled a bit further and then two hands grabbed her by the ankles and she heard Danny say, “Got you, Hollis. Hold on tight.”

Focusing back on Carmilla, Laura secured her grip on both of her arms, and continued, “It was Pokémon Red. My starter was Charmander, obviously. My best friend was obsessed with Squirtle though, but I’ve never really-”

Laura let out a yelp as she was very bodily yanked out through the dirt and free to the other side. Her grasp on Carmilla’s arms didn’t falter, and Carmilla followed her out of the dirt with a hilariously shocked expression on her face. Danny had been running away from the dirt, holding Laura’s ankles over her shoulders, and the force needed to pull them free also made them fly forward, directly into the Sergeant’s back and bowling her over.

Laura groaned. It had happened so quickly that she had no idea what exactly had happened, or whose elbow was in her side right now, and who had their knee in her stomach. Slowly, the three of them came apart, each person rolling away while trying to cause as little extra damage as possible.

Laura looked over at Danny, who was holding her back and wincing, and then over to Carmilla, who looked present again. (Finally. Thankfully.)

Laura reached over, holding Carmilla in the same spot. Carmilla looked over at her, her chest rising and falling deeply, but steadily. In the glow of her watch, her eyes were soft and deep and so, so beautifully present.

Carmilla spoke in a voice full of gravel, “Your friend’s right.” She cleared her throat roughly and before Laura could ask what she was talking about, she continued, “Squirtle’s where it’s at.”

Danny groaned next to them. “Are you seriously talking about Pokémon right now?”

Laughter spilled from Laura’s mouth, full of relief. After a moment, Carmilla joined her. And eventually, not understanding but not needing to, so did Danny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	18. Chapter 18

Thankfully, there weren’t any more tunnel blockages and somehow - somewhat miraculously - Danny didn’t push the subject with Carmilla. In fact, all it took was a look at the agent and the Sergeant didn’t question it.

They’d lost all the time they’d saved during the run, so by the time they made it to the bunker door they were running just late, and the previous laughter had long left them.

Laura recognised the professional stillness in Danny and Carmilla’s face, and, oddest of all, felt it in her own. She pulled the shield off her back, fixing it to her arm and taking comfort in the undercurrent that the shield sent through her - solid and strong.

Carmilla pulled up the map again, gesturing to a large room deep in the belly of the bunker. “From what we can tell, there’s a lot of tech sending signals out from here. Either it’s a control room, or a surveillance room. Either way, it’ll have information.”

Danny fell into a lean against the steel door, one hand against the door and the other against her forehead.

“Are you okay?” Laura asked, her hand hovering over Danny’s arm. She noticed perspiration starting to bead along the Sergeant’s forehead and frowned. It wasn’t hot in here, if anything it was eerily cold.

The Sergeant’s jaw clenched and she nodded, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand. “Fine.” She stood back up straight, blinking again and focusing on the map. Laura continued to watch her carefully as she heaved her way through breaths.

Carmilla pulled the hologram back into the watch and Danny glared at her. “I’m _fine_ ,” she insisted. “Just got dizzy for a second.”

“You need to take a seat, Big Red?” Carmilla asked, and it wasn’t entirely unkind, although Danny took it as such with a glare.

“We make our way down to the bottom of the bunker, get information, and then what?” Danny demanded, determined to get the attention off her and back on the plan.

“You two leave.”

Laura and Danny protested at once.

“Like hell, Karnstein.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

Carmilla didn’t answer either of them as she pressed a few buttons on her watch. “I’m going to follow my orders.”

Carmilla’s words hit Laura like a freight train - _I’m going to burn this place to the ground_ \- and for a long moment Laura thought she was going to throw up. As naive as it sounded, she had thought it might be a symbolic burning. The image of the dam exploding came to mind. She thought of the guards they’d left in the hall, in the reception. She swallowed hard and it tasted like ash.

Laura reached for the agent. “Carm...”

Carmilla dropped her arm away from Laura’s reach, not looking her in the eye as she turned to the door. Laura looked over at Danny, trying to find some support from the Sergeant, _some_ thing. But the Sergeant’s face was perfectly blank as she watched Carmilla take out what looked like a collapsed antenna from her belt, snapping it out into a long, thin piece of metal that she pointed at the top right hand corner of the door, tracing an invisible line from the ceiling to the floor slowly.

Laura started towards Carmilla, not caring that she’d pulled away, not caring that she was avoiding her gaze. “Carm.”

Carmilla started to pull the rod to the left, and the metal bolts of the doors scraped loudly as they moved with her. It took five seconds for them to finally clunk against the barrel, fully retracted, and Carmilla collapsed the rod again, slipping it into its compartment.

“Agent Karnstein,” Laura said, her voice low and dangerous.

Carmilla sighed and turned to her. “Are we on a last name basis now?”

Laura ignored her and launched into her argument. “You can’t tell me that all those people in there deserve to die. I mean,” Laura faltered, “yes, okay, they’re not all good people, but... you can’t be judge, jury and executioner. They should be arrested, get _trials_ , be brought to justice. Not vengeance.”

“You’re right,” Carmilla agreed and Laura felt relief flood her system. At least, until Carmilla said, “But this isn’t about that. This is me being an agent.” Her eyes flicked over to Danny. “And what do we do with orders, Sergeant?”

“We follow them.”

Laura whipped around to stare at the Sergeant, who had fixed a spot on the wall with a thousand yard stare. Laura tried to read the Sergeant’s face, searching for some sign of regret, for something that would make her feel less alone in between these two people. Danny swallowed and Laura swore she caught a flicker of it, but whatever it was, it was gone a fraction of a second later.

Laura’s attention returned to the agent, who shrugged. “You heard the soldier.”

She pushed open the door.

And closed it again.

They all shared a look, because they’d all seen what was behind the door. A solid _army_ of people with weapons aimed straight at them.

Laura unclipped a grenade from her vest, pushing forward and shoved the door open enough to drop the flash grenade a metre inside the door.

“What happened to justice?” Carmilla asked.

Laura ducked back around the door. “Justice comes after they stop pointing guns at us.”

The grenade exploded in the other room and Laura pushed the door open again, leading with her shield as she charged into the room. The soldiers were all disoriented from the grenade and she swung the shield, knocking the jaw of one, while she kicking another. Shots fired from behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to see the other two, guns drawn and firing. Two soldiers dropped in front of her, both of them howling from the gunshots. The non-lethal shots.

Hope grew in Laura’s chest as she grabbed the arm of a soldier trying to aim his gun, twisting it and then thrusting her elbow up and into the bridge of his nose with a crunch. A bullet glanced off her shield and she looked up. There was a metal landing above their heads, with a line of fresh soldiers firing assault rifles.

Then, in a quick succession of four shots from Sergeant Lawrence, each of them was brought to their knees. Laura saw one of them raise their rifle again, taking aim at the Sergeant, and she threw her shield like a Frisbee, just like she had with the weight plates, and knocked him out. The shield continued past the landing and hit the cement column hanging from the ceiling, and then bounced back the same way to knock out another of the soldiers who was reaching for his gun. Laura caught the shield and looked at it with an impressed look. “Huh.”

A soldier came stumbling towards her and she swiftly hit him in the face with the shield, throwing him onto his back, before flinging her shield at the closest person, smacking them in the cheek and catching it as it flew back at her.

“You having fun?” Carmilla asked, appearing next to her for a second before peeling off, sweeping the leg of a soldier, then grabbing another from behind into a chokehold and using him as a shield against the now recovering soldiers who had started to open fire at them.

“I’m still mad at you.”

“Can we argue later, dear?” Carmilla asked sarcastically as she threw a knee into a soldier’s side and then shoved him hard towards the soldier behind him.

“You can’t just- you aren’t someone who just follows orders like that, Carm.” Laura grabbed the barrel of a gun that a soldier tried to aim at her, pushing it down and pointing it away, while punching him in the face with her other arm and then grabbing him by the shoulder so she could knee him in the groin and pull the gun free.

“You don’t know anything about the orders I’ve followed, sweetheart,” Carmilla replied bluntly.

“I know _you_ ,” Laura insisted and instantly hated how weak it sounded. To make up for it she held the shield against her shoulder and barged through several soldiers. With the controlled back kick that Carmilla had taught her, she struck a soldier in the jaw with her boot.

She turned to Carmilla, who had her thighs around a soldier’s neck, twisting him onto the floor with an easy grace. Carmilla got to her feet and surveyed the room. Danny punched the last standing soldier square in the face, causing him to hit the wall and slide down it awkwardly. Together they’d dispatched approximately twenty soldiers, but Laura couldn’t stop from noticing that Carmilla hadn’t replied.

Instead, Carmilla smirked and said, “Well, that was easy.”

Laura was about to reply when-

\---

Laura started awake, feeling as if the act of drawing breath into her lungs was laboured, heavy, almost impossible. Her head was ringing, sharply at her temples and radiating out from there as a dull echo down to her neck. She realised, suddenly and shockingly, that she was hanging upside down by her ankles.

She swung around uselessly, the chains holding her legs up swaying as she tried to get a better look around the room. She was on what looked like a mezzanine level that lined the edges of the room. The floor of the mezzanine area was grated, and there was a series of floor-to-ceiling cylindrical tanks all along the other three edges of the room. They had thick metal bases and tops, and it took her a moment to identify from upside down, but inside them she could see people. Suspended in blue liquid, with a complex collection of wires and tubes hooked into to them.

There were no tanks on either side of her; she seemed to be at the head of the room. She looked to the closest tank on the right side of the room and her stomach dropped. Crumpled at the bottom of the yet-to-be-filled tank, was the Sergeant. She moved slightly, her back rising and falling, and Laura sighed with relief, although she eyed the tank and wondered when it would start to fill with the same liquid as the rest. The tank was over ten feet away, too far to reach, and Laura looked up at the ceiling wondering if she could do a sit up and break the chains.

They were thick, thicker than anything she’d seen before, and the lit up red bulbs on each cuff left her feeling uneasy. She tried anyway, but even her best efforts had no effect on the shackles.

Growing frustrated, she continued to look around the room for something else. She could spot the ground level in the middle of the room, which was made from concrete and was largely empty, despite the bright yellow painted lines on the floor. In the middle was a figure sitting in a chair, their head bowed.

She looked back over at the Sergeant and spotted the trail of blood from her ears down the side of her head. That wasn’t a good sign.

Laura went to lift a hand to her ear to check herself for blood, and as she did she noticed the thin tubes that were strapped to the inside of her elbow, needles drawing a steady supply of blood from her. Her stomach dropped. That wasn’t good.

She remembered what Carmilla had told her, how her blood in the wrong hands-

Carmilla! How had she forgotten about her?

Where was she? What if she’d been hurt or-?

A door from the ground level opened with a bang and Laura stilled herself as much as she could while still keeping an eye on the floor.

A person walked into view, stride long and sure, heels clicking sharply as they approached the person in the chair. The standing person slapped the other, the sound ringing like the crack of a whip throughout the room, and causing the person in the chair to wake violently. They flicked their black hair back, revealing their face to Laura.

Laura felt an ache in her chest as she saw the agent spit blood at the ground and look back up at the person who had slapped them.

Carmilla stared up at the Major and her lip curled. “You.”

“So glad you could join us, Agent Karnstein.”

“Well.” Carmilla rolled her shoulders as much as she could, measuring the tug of the ropes against her wrists. “You sent _such_ a nice invitation I couldn’t resist.”

“Ah yes.” The Major smiled predatorily. “The ‘abandoned’ tunnel.”

The Major spun on her heel, her hands clasped behind her and her right thumb tapping a rhythm against the gold band of her watch. Carmilla’s eyes dropped to the watch and something suddenly gripped her chest, squeezing so tight that her breath was pushed up as bile into her mouth.

The Major spoke without turning, “You have gone soft, Mircalla. Time was, you were the best of the Red Room. Now, you fall for clear traps.” The Major finally turned and stalked slowly towards Carmilla, limbs moving like a lioness preparing to make a strike. “And cannot even recognise your old Mistress.”

Carmilla suddenly felt an overwhelming nausea take her, as she saw her Mistress’ face superimposed over the Major’s. The jaw was different, as was the brow, the nose, the cheeks, the forehead, the face shape, but the eyes. The _eyes_.

Carmilla felt like screaming, but no noise made it past her gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	19. Chapter 19

Wilson Kirsch carefully stepped through the rubble of the recently bombed town. Glass crunched under foot and he grimaced, removing his foot from the windowpane shards and manoeuvring around them carefully. His hand twitched to reach for an arrow, heart searching for some steadying comfort, but he needed his hands free right now. He needed to be alert, on edge. He needed to be at the top of his game.

His mission was to take out Black Widow, a codename for a Russian spy who was infamous in the world of espionage. Not only for her ruthlessness, but also for having never been photographed. The most intel they had on her was vague eyewitness accounts, which had probably been a gift from her. No one survived if she didn’t want them to.

Kirsch would be lying if he said that he wasn’t scared. This was his first solo dark mission, no one except for a few very select higher ups knew about it, which meant there was no back up. He was entirely alone.

He glanced around the corner, into what had once been a building interior. Now it was little more than two walls coming together at the corner, the windows all blown out, and only the corner of the second floor and roof left attached to the walls. He rounded the wall, continuing to sweep the area, before making it into where the corner of the second floor was standing, and tested how well his fingertips could grip onto the bricks.

Satisfied, he hauled himself up, putting the sole of his boot into the windowsill. With a few quick movements, he scrambled onto the second floor and shoved his back against the corner, tightening his grip on his bow and surveying the area in front of him.

He finally let himself nock an arrow, taking comfort in the familiarity of the feeling. This was good, this was him, this was _his_ expertise.

The town around him had been destroyed, and the ripped apart buildings sprawled eerily in the half-light of dawn. It was odd to think that only a few weeks ago it had been buzzing with life - thousands of people going about their daily business in the middle of the town square - and now it was empty. The air was heavy, the actions of the bombing leaving more than just rubble, leaving behind a very real energy that raised the hair on the back of his neck.

He twisted his head up. He could try and get onto the roof...

He turned his head. The tone had echoed off several of the still-standing walls, making it impossible to pinpoint where it had come from, but it was loud enough that even the bow in his hand didn’t clear away all his nerves.

It was louder now, more persistent. He scanned the area in front of him quickly, desperate to find the source of the noise. The idea that he was being messed with entered his mind and his jaw clenched.

A small device flew in a perfect arc through the window, landing right next to Kirsch and his eyes widened as he dived forward, not having the time to be able to jump properly, and he had to do an awkward half roll through the air, firing an arrow reflexively in the direction that the bomb had come from, before landing on his shoulder and grunting at the impact.

Not dislocated. Just.

He nocked another arrow, aiming towards where he’d shot the last one, and spotted the strip of white cloth that had been pinned to the far wall by the arrow. He smirked to himself, but a moment later it was wiped when a flurry of bullets came in his direction and he had to roll forward, towards the wall so that he could take cover against it. He took a steadying breath in before inching up to glance over the windowsill to the direction that the bullets had come from. He couldn’t see anything there and he quickly ducked back around, resting the back of his head against the wall as he considered his options.

The bullets came from a different angle than the bomb, which meant she was moving. Which meant-

Two hands whipped through the window, coming down and a wire pulled hard against his neck. He choked against the wire, a strangled gurgle coming out of his mouth as he dropped his weapon and grabbed onto the hands, trying to pull them free. They stayed firm and he struggled, feeling like his head would pop from the pressure. He put two fingers between the wire and his throat, easing some more swallows of oxygen into his lungs before he reached up as far as he could, as quickly as possible, and grabbed the person. He levered himself against the wall and floor to swing them over and through the window, to drop down in front of him.

Somehow, she managed to land in a graceful roll, so that she was crouching, with one leg extended to the side for balance as she whipped her hair up to stare at him darkly. She had a black material mask across the bottom half of her face, covering from under her eyes down to her chin, as well as a black jumpsuit, and her hair tumbled down in messy waves. (He suddenly realised that the white cloth had been something she’d planted to make him feel like he’d hit her.)

Her eyes were cold and dangerous as she stared him down and Kirsch’s gut was cold for a moment. He glanced down at his bow and calculated in his head if he could grab it and aim it before she could cross the distance between them.

She clearly followed his train of thought, because she immediately launched herself at him. He was ready for her, prepared to counter her attack, except then she went _over_ him, back through the window, putting a hand on his shoulder to help her get through it. He grabbed his bow immediately, standing and twisting to where she was now standing still and regarding him.

He took aim. She would regret-

His body seized, voltage tearing through him from the small electrical charge she’d left on his shoulder, and finally it stopped and he dropped to his knees. With gritted teeth, he ripped the charge off his shoulder and threw it aside, getting back to his feet. Except she was no longer anywhere to be seen.

He jumped through the window, bow and arrow at the ready, because the Russian was toying with him and they both knew it.

The crunch of glass came from behind him and he whipped around to his left, but before his bow could make it all the way around, her hand struck his elbow, sending a pain shooting through his arm. She grabbed the upper and lower limbs of his bow, spinning it out of his hands. He swung around with his leg, landing a firm kick across her middle, and she let go of the bow as she stumbled back.

He swung forward with his bow, taking a hard swipe out of the air - out of frustration more than anything else - and she dodged it easily, moving past and sliding through to his side where she delivered a kick to his chest that sent him backwards. He quickly steadied himself, nocking an arrow, and taking a shot on instinct. It only just missed her as she dove through the other window, back to the other side of the wall.

Swearing, Kirsch looked through the window to see the retreating figure of the agent running. He gave chase, and with every step he was sure that he was being led into a trap, but that didn’t matter. He had been led into traps before, that didn’t stop him from getting the job done.

She ran through a hole in a huge brick wall - which looked less ripped apart than the rest of them - and disappeared from view. His grip on the bow tightened as he tossed up the need to keep up with her, and the trap that he’d be sprinting into.

He swore under his breath and ran into the building, but as he passed through the hole he turned suddenly, dodging a projectile that flew through the air and embedded into the wall behind him. The inside of the building was black, the windows had all been boarded up, and he flicked his glasses to night vision. The inside of the building had been gutted, the wooden floor above him had large gaping holes, and steel beams lay exposed between the columns of bricks throughout the building.

He stepped forward slowly, aware of each part of every step he took, ears pricked for any other sound in the building.

There was a creak to his left and he swung around, moving out of the way as the Russian used one of the metal beams to swing down, her feet aiming right for where his head had been a moment ago. He sent an arrow her way, but she had disappeared back up into the level above.

He kept his eyes on the floor as he moved closer to the nearest brick column - wanting to have something solid at his back. His heart was a constant thrum against his ribcage and he had to tune it out as he tried to pick out the sound of her breathing from the wind whistling through the remains.

He held his breath.

There!

He fired an arrow, and then another one. He heard the tell-tale sound of one of them hitting its mark, and he readied another one quickly and waited. After a couple of moments he shifted his face away from the bow’s sight to look past it to the floorboards above.

There was a clatter to the right - the arrow being discarded no doubt - and he shifted around, not trusting that she’d drop it right next to her. Unless she was in shock.

 _Crack!_ The floorboards to his far _left_ exploded, and the Russian came flying at him, knocking aside his bow with one boot and hitting him in the jaw with the other in a way that made stars explode across the back of his eyelids. The kick also broke his night vision glasses, and he yanked them off his face, just in time for Black Widow to deliver another, ringing blow to his cheek. She followed with a hook, which he blocked with his forearm, before moving in quickly to jab her in the ribs, but she saw it coming and threw a knee up to make his fist glance off.

Without his night vision glasses, he was working off silhouettes and shadows, and he was glad for the close quarters combat. It made things a little easier than trying to fire into the black holes in the floorboards.

Of course, it also meant having a tiny, Russian spy delivering a series of killer blows at a stunning rate that left him feeling like all he could do was react defensively. He blocked and dodged around the flurry of punches and kicks she sent flying his way, at one point ducking around the corner of a brick column so that her foot kicked across and took half a brick with it.

 _Fuck,_ he thought, _she’s even worse than the stories_.

He pulled his combat knife out of the holster, desperate to come off the defensive, and swiped forward with it. She bent back and dodged it easily, and he gave another broad swipe at her, getting her to edge back so he felt like he could breathe again. She was so close with her hand-to-hand that it was almost suffocating, and it was definitely exhausting. He tried to swipe down and she grabbed his wrist, kicking him in the sensitive part of the inner thigh and causing him to buckle. He could see her about to rush him, so he tried for the same shot - and she grabbed him by the wrist again, punching him in the nose, and twisting his arm.

He hissed at the pain and brought his free hand over, dropping the knife into that one and taking a wild swipe at her, desperate to get her out of his space. Instead, it just gave her an opportunity to move closer as she grabbed his forearm with both hands and twisted his arm around, so that the sharp edge of the blade was pointed directly at his neck.

He quickly grabbed the other side of his arm, putting pressure on it to keep the edge away, and charged her. He slammed her back against one of the columns, so hard that it sent a spray of brick dust into the air. Her head hit the brick and some of the strength in her grip waned. He pulled her back and shoved her again, using the opportunity to angle the knife towards her neck instead. He could hear her let out small, frustrated breaths, and felt the win start in his chest, a bloom of victory spread as he leaned against her harder. The edge of the knife nicked her skin and he could feel her panic.

Her other hand came up suddenly, thrusting the knife up and she dodged fast enough that the knife edge missed her as she ducked to the side into the spray of light from the hole in the wall. It may have missed her, but the knife had caught the material that had been covering her face and, as she looked up at Kirsch he saw her face for the first time.

His body went cold.

She was _so young_. She was barely a teenager; she hadn’t even grown into her facial features yet. She looked like she belonged in middle school, not fighting to the death in the ruins of an Eastern European town.

“B _ro_ ,” he muttered under his breath.

\---

Carmilla - because it was Carmilla now, _Carmilla_ \- woke up and panicked.

There was something above her, something, a wall, a panel-

No, _no_ , she couldn’t be here again. _No, please-_

Her fists flew towards it, sending a spray of water into her face, and as she splintered the plastic panelling above her she realised that she was in an isolation tank. She must have fallen asleep during the doctor-prescribed 40-minute daily session. (To help her _process_ , as if being stuck in a sensory deprivation tank would help anyone with anything.)

Her heart was still pounding so hard she could feel her bone marrow reverberate with it as she dropped her hands back into the salt water she was floating in.

_She was okay, she was okay, she was okay._

The panel slid open and a freaked out looking medical staff member stared down at her with wide eyes. “Are you-?”

Without answering him, she got out of the tank and grabbed the towel off the side table, wrapping it around herself and stalking out of the room.

An hour later, Q found her on the roof. How the old man had climbed the building without breaking a hip she had no idea, but she had learned not to question it.

“Agent Karnstein, I hear that you owe me another isolation tank.”

“I’m not an agent,” she replied without looking at him.

“Perhaps not yet,” he agreed mildly. He joined her at the edge of the building, using his walking stick to help him get down and sit next to her.

“What happens if I leave?”

“The Director already discussed your options with you.” He shuffled open his jacket and retrieved something from the inside pocket - the silver flask that he seemed to pull out way too many times given that he was meant to be on the clock. “But,” he continued, “I suppose you don’t trust her, do you?”

He glanced over at her as he unscrewed the lid of the flask and then said, almost to himself, “No, I don’t suppose you do.” He toasted the flask in Carmilla’s direction. “Prost.” Then he took a sip from the flask and offered it to her.

She eyed him - he hadn’t ever offered the flask before. He opened his mouth wide, sticking his tongue out to show that he’d swallowed it, and she slowly took it to her nose, smelling it and a small smile spread over her lips. “Prost.” She took a sip and swished the liquid in her mouth, checking it carefully, before swallowing it and handing the flask back to the quartermaster.

He put the flask away and folded his hands in his lap. “You may leave at any time, Agent Karnstein. Of course, it will require a thorough search for any electronic communication or tracking devices, and probably some memory altering substances.” He considered it for a moment before waving his hand. “We will get to those when it comes to it. But I don’t believe you will leave.”

Carmilla’s hackles rose at the quartermaster’s assumption, but she didn’t say anything.

“As unfair as your indoctrination at the Red Room was, I imagine you spent a long time being trained there. I cannot fathom what you went through,” he murmured. “I don’t blame you for not speaking of it. Sometimes the act of speaking of our demons feels more impossible than going through them.

“An unfortunate fact regarding demons though, Agent Karnstein, is that they cannot be run from. Regardless of how fast, determined, or desperate you are.” His knuckles strained against his skin. “And when one has as much red on their ledger as you do, you’ll find the demons are particularly persistent.”

“How many demons do you have?” she asked, hating her voice for the undercurrent of roughness.

He smiled absently at her. “Enough.”

“And being an agent will exorcise demons?” she scoffed. “You are far more naive than I gave you credit for, old man.”

“You are a weapon, Carmilla Karnstein,” he stated and the bluntness in his voice almost made her flinch. “There is no escape from that truth. But, that doesn’t have to be the end of the sentence.”

He got to his feet, leaving her alone on the ledge. The warmth from the schnapps left her as he did, and she drew her shoulders in tighter against the cold wind that swept up the building.

\---

“You didn’t have to come on this mission.”

Carmilla stilled her bouncing leg and looked up at Kirsch. His ops glasses were propped on top of his head and he looked like an idiot, but his usual goofiness had disappeared behind concern as he watched her carefully.

“Don’t be an idiot, of course I did.”

There was a thump on the boarded up window between the cab of the ute and the tray, and they both jumped out of the truck, landing with synchronised rolls in the ditch by the dirt road. The ground was covered in damp orange and brown leaves, the trees around them bare and gnarled against the grey sky.

“You could have just given me the intel. I could have done it alone.”

Carmilla rolled her eyes at the agent’s stubbornness, choosing to ignore him as she started picking her way through the gnawingly familiar forest. In a moment of nausea, she realised the air tasted the same.

She realised Kirsch was still babbling about how he could have done with a solo mission anyway because he could do with some alone time.

“Kirsch.”

He looked at her with a vaguely guilty expression.

“Shut up.”

He held up his hands, mouth shut and pulled into an apologetic line. She turned her attention back to the forest, which was darker than she remembered. She started to move quickly through the trees, dodging roots and picking her way through undergrowth. She put a hand on the twisted knot of a tree that marked the turning point, and followed the deep scar at the centre of it, not bothering to check whether Kirsch was behind her or not.

She didn’t mind the agent usually, he had a silly sort of charm about him, but right now everything he did was setting her off. She had only just managed to keep herself from yelling at him, and even that deserved a medal. Her hand went to the flask Q had given her before they’d left. The only thing he’d said was ‘Russia gets cold’, which was uncharacteristically succinct. Her throat ached for the burn of the schnapps, but she needed razor focus.

There was no telling what they’d find.

They were both wearing thick, well-worn clothes in an effort to blend in, their weapons hidden under several layers, and Carmilla hated how much sound their clothing made as they walked through the forest. It had been necessary, getting this far had cost several close encounters with the authorities, including a moment when Kirsch’s clumsy tongue had stumbled with his Russian and he’d had to feign a stutter for the rest of the conversation.

It would have been better for her to come on her own. But, even after two years, they didn’t trust her with that.

She wasn’t sure if she trusted herself with it either.

They reached the boulder shaped like a fox’s head and she followed the line of the nose. There wasn’t that far to go now.

She could hear Kirsch breathing behind her and each breath felt like sandpaper against her nerves. She was fantasizing about knocking him out and leaving him behind when she spotted the cement fence that bordered the compound. Her palms were slick with sweat. She couldn’t remember the last time she got a fever (that was a lie, she remembered the last time, she remembered it, God she remembered it) but this felt like one, and like the opposite of one all at the same time.

“Is that it?”

She didn’t reply to him, just started walking down to the building, each step numb as it sent phantom echoes of jolts through her body.

They reached the fence and Kirsch pulled out the arrow he used for climbing, aiming it at top of the wall. Carmilla instead walked further to the right, pulling aside a bush to reveal a small hole in the wall, with another overgrown bush on the other side.

“Dude,” Kirsch said, clearly impressed.

Carmilla kicked aside the bush and slotted herself through, barely fitting in the slim hole. She was covering the hole with the bush again - out of habit more than anything, there were no patrols to find it now - when Kirsch landed on the other side of the fence, arrow in hand.

With him there, she finally dared to look at the building. A chill passed through her, from her skin, through to her core, and rippling back again. Suddenly, no time had passed and she was five years old again, running laps around the fence in the snow. She was seven, twirling and twirling in pointe shoes until her toes bled and broke, and then twirling some more. She was ten-

Kirsch’s hand was at her elbow and it took everything in her not to recoil and slam the heel of her palm into his nose. She could already feel it give way, a ghost of a thousand of the same experience fluttering across her skin. The sensation calmed her.

“Where’s the control room?” His eyes were skimming over the building in front of them, she could see him analysing how to make his way to the roof, the entrances, weaknesses, vantage points, and she wanted to scream. Something about the way he was marking it down made her blood turn icy in her veins, it just felt _wrong_.

(Why did she come back here? Why?)

“What makes you think it's in the control room?” Carmilla fired back. Her voice was steady, hard, firm, and she internally thanked all those lessons on speaking. The annunciation, pronunciation, accent work, elocution, inflection. It all slid back into place like a well-worn mask in this, the place of its creation.

“Is that not where they keep the important stuff?”

The agency had traced a signal that matched a dangerous weapon - previously stolen from the government - to this location. Carmilla’s expertise of the compound had been called upon, despite the Director’s previous respect of her not wanting to be involved with anything Red Room related. She’d given them the location when she’d finally agreed to work with them, but she hadn’t been there since her graduation five years prior, and in the time since it had apparently been disbanded.

(Carmilla had been unable to untangle the emotion at being told that, and had no wish to. Even later on when she found herself desperately biting her pillow as tears rolled down her cheeks.)

“No.”

She knew where they would keep it.

They cut through the grounds quickly, and she avoided going through any of the buildings, although she ticked them off in her mind. The dorm. The dance room. The medical facility. The classrooms. The fighting ring.

Finally, they reached their destination. The place that Carmilla still saw on the nights that would rip screams from her throat and leave her hoarse, shaking, and sure she was dead as all she could taste was dirt. She stopped at the crest of the hill, staring down at the hundreds of graves, marked only by blank stone tablets. The headstones would have seemed generous, if they weren’t for the express purpose of robbing those underneath of their name.

Scattered amongst the rows were disturbed ones, the soil still thrown aside, although over the years it had been tamped down and now just appeared to be odd six-foot deep ditches. They were few and far between, and the stones at the head of those bore names.

It didn’t take her long to find hers.

Kirsch swallowed noisily next to her. “What is this?”

Carmilla laughed humourlessly, and it felt like she was crying. “Our graduation hall.”

Then, she turned to the weapons building, situated to the side so that anyone who came to it would have to walk in front of the graves. The eternal reminder. She and Kirsch broke in, found the weapon, packed it up, dealt with the very obvious trap that it had been, dispatching all the soldiers that swarmed, and radioed out for a lift.

Carmilla did all this, but the whole time her mind was on the headstone, on her name that they’d let her carve out once she’d reached the surface. The way her hands had shook, and the letters had come out crooked. That, as she looked at the name through feverish, dizzy eyes, she’d known that she’d never use it again.

\---

“Mircalla.” The Mistress’ voice sounded light, but underneath it carried an immeasurable amount of weight. “Nothing to say?”

Carmilla twisted her wrists over and over, the rope cutting into her skin, but she could feel it loosen fractionally, as she glared up at the woman.

The Mistress sighed and turned away from her, pacing leisurely across the concrete floor. Carmilla took the opportunity of her back being turned to glance around the room quickly, measuring up her options.

That was when she spotted her - Laura. Hanging upside down and being bled.

Carmilla muttered something under her breath. The Mistress turned. “What was that?”

She walked closer, curious and daring Carmilla to repeat herself.

Laura watched from above as Carmilla practically _exploded_ , lunging forward and ripping one arm out of its socket so the other could slip through the ropes and strike at the Mistress’ eyes. The Mistress stumbled back, falling to the floor as her hand went her left eye and she screeched.

“I said,” Carmilla spat at her, “that’s not my name.”

Carmilla quickly rid herself of the chair remnants and ropes, popping her arm back into place and using one of the ropes to create a makeshift sling that kept her arm at a 90-degree angle. “Laura? Are you okay?”

“Carm!” Laura couldn’t help the relief that flooded her tone. “I’m fine, I just- I can’t get out.”

Carmilla disappeared from view for a few moments before the sound of steps on metal echoed through the room and she appeared, belt strapped to her waist again. She made her way to Laura quickly, and Laura couldn’t help but beam at her as she tried to twist to see the agent the right way up. Carmilla’s attention was on the cuffs on her feet though, as she pulled something out of her belt and pressed it against each cuff, causing the red light to go out and for them to let her go.

Laura fell to the ground, using her arms to break the fall, and got to her feet slowly, testing out her body’s reaction to the fall. Carmilla reached for the tubes, quickly ripping them out of her arms, eyeing them as they disappeared into the glass-walled room behind Laura that she hadn’t been able to see before. “We have to destroy everything they’ve taken from you.”

Laura nodded. Then she gestured over to Danny, who was still unconscious in the tube. “First, we get her out.”

Carmilla went over to the tube, her hands skimming the exterior of it as she assessed what material it was made out of. Then she took a step back, and kicked it as hard as she could, causing the glass to shatter and come down in a shower of broken shards onto the Sergeant.

A bullet hit the wall directly next to Laura’s head and she ducked instinctively, looking back down to the ground level where the Mistress now had a strip of black material secured over the injured eye, and even from where she was Laura could see the messy streaks of dark red across her face.

Not even wanting to think about what was underneath the material, Laura immediately helped Carmilla haul the Sergeant to her feet, and they quickly made their way along the mezzanine level to the room behind where Laura had been hanging. Carmilla tried the door, which was, of course, locked. But, as luck would have it, a shot that whizzed past them hit and shattered one of the glass panels. Carmilla kicked out the remaining jagged glass along the bottom, and they dragged Danny inside.

It was a lab, bordered by fridges with hundreds upon hundreds of vials, and they quickly took cover behind one of the benches.

 _If I never step foot in another lab again, it’ll be too soon,_ Laura thought as she shielded her face from the exploding beakers, shattering from the bullet spray.

Suddenly everything went quiet, which felt more ominous than the gunfire.

Carmilla started to sneak around the counter and Laura grabbed her by the arm, feeling a sudden, baseless panic. She didn’t know anything about the agent’s past, but the Major recognising her, calling her a different name, talking to her like she had known her in a context other than the agency... It felt wrong, and scary, and she really didn’t want to lose Carmilla.

Carmilla seemed to trace Laura’s thoughts because instead of a defensive reaction, she gave Laura a reassuring look, putting her other hand over Laura’s. It took Laura a second, but finally, she let go.

She watched Carmilla as she moved forward in a crouch, following the surgical drain tubes to the device on top of the counter, where a plastic bag already full of blood was being gently rocked back and forth.

Carmilla reached for the bag, but before she could snatch it off the machine, the sound of heels hitting and ringing through the metal echoed through the room. Her hand froze.

“You know what I think of guns, Mircalla,” the Mistress’ voice drifted through the open window. “They’re horribly impersonal.” She came into view walking up the stairs. “And you know how I love things to be personal.” Her lip curled, in disgust or in a smirk - it wasn’t clear which.

Even with only one good eye, and a swathe of drying blood across her face, she still cut an intimidating figure. Her hair, impressively, was still in a stern bun, although a few strands had come loose and were now hanging down around her face. Her features were harshly edged; they would have been beautiful if not for the coldness of her expression. Her nose hooked down, long and thin, while her chin came to a point from her sharp jaw.

Laura’s eyes went from the Major - or Mistress, or _whatever_ \- who stalked forward confidently, and casual in her confidence; to Carmilla who was completely still, face blank and body tense.

“Or, sorry,” the Mistress said, her voice gaining an utterly unapologetic edge, “ _Carmilla_ , now is it?”

She stopped just in front of the shattered windowpane, glowering into the room. She threw the assault rifle forward, so that it landed in front of Carmilla. She waited expectantly. “So, are we to do this personally or impersonally?”

Laura couldn’t help the small, sharp intake of breath at the overbearing tension in the room. This drew the attention of both of them, the Mistress glaring at her full force, and Carmilla glancing at her out of the corner of her eye.

Carmilla reached forward and took the gun in hand, standing. Instead of aiming it though, she used her injured arm to pop the magazine free, threw the gun aside, and then slid the empty magazine back along the ground so that it hit the window frame and stopped.

The Mistress smiled menacingly.

“Empty,” Carmilla said, and the odd absence in her tone made Laura’s hair stand on end.

The Mistress’ smile grew. “I’m glad you haven’t forgotten everything I’ve taught you.”

Laura saw Carmilla slowly ease a set of three small, flat knives out of the belt from behind her back. “I haven’t forgotten a single thing.”

Then, she threw them forward in quick succession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	20. Chapter 20

Laura peered over the bench at Carmilla and the Mistress trading blows. With their respective wounds it made it a fairly even fight, Carmilla’s good arm lashing out at the Mistress’ blind side, while the Mistress was brutal to Carmilla’s injured right side. They both had a devastating fury about them, but it was countered with a cold precision to their movements, and Laura couldn’t help but think of them as dancers, moving about each other in a beautifully practiced way.

Carmilla had managed to push the Mistress back into the grated mezzanine area, and they moved back and forth in front of the room. Laura itched to join them, but she knew Carmilla had left her to do something else. Something more important.

She snatched the blood bag off the counter, before scanning the lab for something flammable. Come on, something, _some_ thing, she remembered all the flammable warning signs in every laboratory she’d ever been, there had to be something here.

She glanced at the unconscious Sergeant - something _contained_.

She spotted a safety containment cabinet in the corner, with a solid metal body, and glass door. She went over to it quickly, sliding the door up and throwing the bag inside. She started scrabbling through the drawers when-

Behind her, Danny started to flail, her whole body seizing and practically _vibrating_. Laura rushed over to her, panicking as she tried to remember what to do with someone who was having an epileptic seizure. The Sergeant’s eyes had rolled back in her head, so that the only thing visible was the white of her eyes. Except, _except_ , they were riddled with tiny veins of... green?

Danny seized again, so violently that Laura was thrown up into the air against the back wall. Laura’s head thumped against the wall heavily and she fell to the floor. Groaning and holding her head, she lifted her face and froze.

Hunched over, in the place where Danny had just been, was now her green, hulked out form shaking, grunting, and making small sounds of protest. Laura swallowed hard as she slowly pulled her body together, readying her legs for if she needed to spring up.

Danny’s shoulders heaved, the _huge_ muscles rippling under her green skin, and Laura frowned. This felt different than before. Even the first time she’d seen her, and Danny had been completely furious, she didn’t feel like this. This felt... It felt like the Sergeant wasn’t even present. There was something animalistic in the way she grunted with each breath, the way her hands were now ripping into the floor, her fingers gouging deep, ragged holes into the linoleum and through to the concrete underneath.

Suddenly, her head snapped up, eyes zeroing in on Laura and Laura couldn’t help the soft gasp that escaped her mouth. She was certain now, there was no trace of Danny in those eyes.

The Sergeant let out a powerful huff, the breath sending bits of loose linoleum flying.

A very real, very thick terror flooded Laura’s body as she kept her eyes locked on the Sergeant’s. Sure she’d taken her on before, but she’d barely survived that and Carmilla didn’t have her magic goo gun right now and-

Laura couldn’t help it, she broke eye contact with the Sergeant to check on Carmilla. Her breath stopped in her throat. Carmilla was kneeling on the ground, panting as bloody spit trailed out of her mouth. The Mistress was standing over her, a cold victory painted all over her face. She was saying something, probably something gloating and gross, but Laura didn’t have the time to try and figure out what because the lack of eye contact made the Sergeant let loose a roar and charge at her.

Oh, _fuck!_

Laura sprang to her feet, running to the side of the Sergeant, dropping down into a baseball slide out of her grasp, before pushing herself back up and launching _through_ one of the still intact window panes, towards Carmilla. She scooped the bewildered looking agent on the way, the momentum continuing to fling her forward as she and Carmilla both fell off the edge of the mezzanine and down to the ground level.

In the air, Laura twisted their bodies so that she was on the bottom, her arms securing Carmilla but keeping a loose enough grip so that when her back came in contact hard with the concrete ground Carmilla was cushioned from the shock and not forced to absorb it with her.

They hit the ground so hard that Laura saw stars for a moment, but she blinked them out of her eyes quickly.

Carmilla groaned gently above her. “Way to make an entrance, cupcake.”

“What can I say? I like to leave an impression.” Laura shifted and took a deep breath in, trying to gauge whether she had injured herself, but apart from an all over body ache and her head ringing dully, she felt fine.

Carmilla got up off Laura, and Laura spotted the already blooming bruise by her mouth, the injured arm that she was cradling against her side - the sling gone -, and the gash across the front of her stomach. She had no idea how many more injuries weren’t yet obvious.

Unaware, or perhaps ignoring, Laura’s identification of her injuries, Carmilla peered up at the mezzanine above. They couldn’t see or hear anything from where they were, and Laura got to her feet quickly and joined her.

“Where do-?”

A blur of green flew out from the laboratory, moving through the air so quickly that it was impossible to see the Mistress tangled up with it until it hit the far wall, exploding several of the tubes and sending a flood of liquid rushing out of them. The people inside fell limp, held up only by their tubes.

With the light blue liquid dripping down through the holes in the grate, Laura and Carmilla watched as the Sergeant, drenched in the liquid, shrank and shrank, until finally back to her own size again. Next to her, the Mistress was knocked out cold.

“You get Xena,” Carmilla said, already pulling herself up the stairs using the railing. “I’ll deal with the lab.”

Laura quickly made her way up to Danny, trusting that Carmilla had the lab covered. She stepped over the Mistress to kneel next to Danny, who - surprisingly - was still semi conscious. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her whole body shaking, as she whispered something continuously.

Laura frowned and leaned closer. “Danny?”

Then she heard it. “Stopstopstopstop.”

“Danny?”

“ _Stopstopstopstop_.” Danny’s eyes squeezed shut tighter and through gritted teeth and heaved breaths she muttered, “Laura. You need. To leave. Now.”

“Da-”

Laura noticed that the liquid that had previously coated Danny had, somehow, disappeared. No, not disappeared, soaked in.

And, as it did, the Sergeant’s skin started to turn green again. Her hands slammed down on the grate, fingers tangling into the floor, as she started to shake and grow. Her head snapped up to Laura, and Laura could see the green creeping into her face, into the edges of her bloodshot eyes.

“ _GO, NOW!!!_ ” Danny roared.

Laura came to life, very suddenly, as she stumbled backwards and started running back to the lab. She felt the walkway shudder underneath her, once, twice, and then completely _tilt_. She scrabbled to find purchase as she glanced behind her to see the Sergeant had grabbed the entire section of the platform, and shoved it down so that Laura would come sliding towards her.

“Laura!” Carmilla shouted and Laura saw the agent throw the shield at her. Scrambling to the top of the grating, Laura leaped up to grab the shield, before landing on the still stable part of the grating and spinning to face the Sergeant head on.

Furious that Laura had moved off the grating section she’d grabbed, the Sergeant pulled it completely free of the frame, causing the metal to screech in protest, and threw it to the other side of the room, breaking another set of tubes.

Laura held the shield steady, securing it against her shoulder and drawing what strength she could from it. “Carm?” she asked without daring to look away from the Sergeant. “What’s the plan?”

“Run!” Carmilla shouted.

Laura turned to reply when she saw Carmilla sprinting towards her, the lab exploding behind her. Carmilla dropped down the stairwell, and Laura whipped the shield around to protect herself from the shockwave that the explosion sent through the room, shattering all the remaining intact tanks. Still, the people inside didn’t stir from their unconscious states.

Not that Laura had much time to think about that, because the Sergeant had recovered from the explosion, which had just made her madder as she leapt towards Laura, her fists winding up for a punch. Laura brought her shield up just in time to stop the blow, and then again for the second one as she dropped to one knee.

She took a chance to roll away from the Sergeant, flinging the shield as hard as she could at her, clipping her jaw and sending her head reeling up. Laura scrambled to her feet, grabbing the shield out of the air and jumping down to the ground level to join Carmilla. She landed on the shield to cushion the shock, and rolled forward into a crouch.

“Glad you could join me, Cap,” Carmilla stated sarcastically as she gestured her through the massive steel sliding door that she’d gotten open while Laura had been dealing with the Sergeant. The door was so thick that Laura had assumed it was part of the wall, and the rust covering the sliding rails made it clear that it was rarely, if ever, used.

“You go, I’ll bring up the rear.”

Carmilla looked ready to argue, but Laura insisted, “I have the shield. You’re injured. Go.”

Looking mildly annoyed, Carmilla rolled her eyes and took off down the tunnel carved out of dirt with steel supports holding it stable. The tunnel had rusted railroad tracks along the ground, and it reminded Laura of the way in they’d used. Laura followed Carmilla while keeping her front to the room they’d just come from, waiting for the tell-tale thump of the Sergeant’s approach.

“We have to get out of here,” Laura said, sending glances over her shoulder.

“Oh, gee, and I was considering settling down,” Carmilla replied as she continued to jog ahead.

“I mean, get to the surface. With her.” Laura felt the ground start to rumble and tried to quieten the echoing hammer in her chest. “I think this place is doing something to her.”

Laura could feel the lack of belief pouring off Carmilla, but to give the agent credit, she didn’t voice it out loud. Instead, she clarified, “So we play bait?”

“Yay?”

The silhouette of the Sergeant filled the doorway.

“Yay,” Carmilla echoed flatly.

The Sergeant started bounding towards them, closing the distance between them at a truly terrifying rate.

“Do you have anything that could slow her down?” Laura asked, raising her voice over the sound of the Sergeant’s heavy steps.

“You wanted to be bait.”

“Bait, yes. Dead, no.”

“You have a taste for the dramatic, don’t you?”

The Sergeant was now only a few steps away from them and Laura warned, “ _Carm_.”

Carmilla pulled something out of her belt and yanked Laura aside, so she could get a clear shot down the tunnel towards the Sergeant. Whatever she’d thrown hit its mark, attaching to the Sergeant’s chest and sending an electric shock through the Sergeant. It did little more than make her stumble slightly, as she growled and continued to lumber towards them. They reached a landing in the tunnel, and as they rounded the corner to continue up, the Sergeant continued to close the space between them.

Carmilla made a frustrated sound as she pulled out another of the same gadget, anchoring herself against Laura’s shoulder as she threw it. It landed almost directly next to the first, and when she activated it this time it caused the Sergeant’s right leg to give out, her hand flying out as she fought to recover her footing. Her hand slammed into the wall, taking out one of the steel supports and causing the entire tunnel to shake.

Laura felt Carmilla tense up, her pace faltering at the light dusting of dirt that fell from the ceiling. She grabbed her hand to urge her on, her grip as tight as possible without being crushing. At an encouraging squeeze and tug from Laura, Carmilla’s pace recovered. In fact, it felt like she was moving even faster than before despite her uninjured hand holding onto Laura’s.

They reached another landing, both of them swinging around the corner more messily than the previous one, using each other’s momentum and weight to make it around.

Laura’s stomach dropped.

It was obvious that the part cave-in at the end of the stretch of tunnel had just happened. One of the supports had fallen diagonally across the tunnel, and half of the tunnel was now full of dirt. The other half was still free - just. At least, that’s how it appeared from the front, who knew what it would be like once they got in there.

With each heavy step from the Sergeant, the dirt continued to shift. It rolled down in chunks that varied in size from a grain of sand to a fist. This time, Laura’s hand in hers didn’t stop Carmilla from freezing up.

But, the ever continual approach from the Sergeant behind, and the fast closing gap ahead, meant that Laura didn’t have the time to encourage her gently. Instead, she dragged her forward, even though it felt like Carmilla was digging her heels in like a stubborn pet. They reached the cave-in just as the Sergeant got to the landing, and there was only a metre of gap left.

Laura turned around. She measured the time it would take for the Sergeant to reach the cave-in, the gap that was still left, the likelihood of the Sergeant’s ability to break through the fallen dirt.

“Laura!” Carmilla’s strained voice interrupted Laura’s train of thought. The gap was only half a metre now.

“We can’t,” Laura said, her voice quiet with defeat.

The Sergeant pounded towards them.

Carmilla frowned as if she hadn’t heard her properly. “What?”

“She won’t make it through. We can’t leave her.”

“Laura.” Carmilla’s frustration flared over her other emotions briefly. She must have seen the firmness in Laura’s face though, because she sighed (with just the tiniest edge of relief). “What then, Cap?”

Laura dug her feet into the soil, squaring off her shoulders as she stared at the fast approaching Sergeant. “You don’t have, like, a mini goo gun, do you?”

Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “‘Goo’ gun?”

Suddenly, Laura remembered. “The blue liquid. It changed her back. We need to get to where they keep it.”

“You couldn’t have thought of that earlier?” Carmilla asked, but she was too busy pulling up the scanner from her watch to be annoyed.

To give her time, Laura charged forward, meeting the Sergeant halfway and blocking the hit from her with the shield. “I’m _so_ rry, I was kind of preoccupied.” She blocked another hit

“Totally not forgiven.” Carmilla’s sarcasm ghosted over the back of Laura’s neck as she manoeuvred past her, careful to keep Laura’s shield between her and the Sergeant. A shiver ran over Laura’s skin, but she pushed it aside as she quickly followed the agent back down the tunnel.

For a head start, Carmilla sent another charge through the two electrocuting devices, which caused the Sergeant to let out an angry grunt and swing her fists out as she spun around in the tunnel.

The run back down was faster than the run up had been, though not just for the agent and Laura. The Sergeant was clearly frustrated with being electrocuted so many times and she accompanied each thumping step with growing sounds of anger, which built to a roar by the time the other two reached the room again.

“Through there,” Carmilla gestured to the door opposite. “Then second door on the left.”

“You go,” Laura insisted as she started to close the steel door. It wouldn’t stop the Sergeant - it wasn’t meant to -, but it would slow her down. When Carmilla didn’t immediately go, Laura shot her a look. “I’m the super soldier.”

Carmilla rolled her eyes but she went regardless, shouting over her shoulder, “You can’t always pull the serum card, Hollis.”

“I’ll pull the card anytime I want, Karnstein,” Laura fired back as she managed to slide the door shut just as the Sergeant hit it full force. It buckled, but stayed on its hinges. Barely.

Laura had her shoulder up against the door - like that would do much to keep it there - and she could hear the Sergeant stop and then back up, clearly readying to charge down the door again.

_Thump, thump, thump, thumpthumpthumpTHUMPTHUMP-_

Laura jumped out of the way as the door flew completely off its hinges, the Sergeant bursting through. The door spun in the air, flying behind her, and as it did another door appeared into view, flipping over and over until it hit the Sergeant square in the face.

Wait, what?

Where did that-?

Laura looked over her shoulder where a red and gold plated human-shaped robot stepped through the now door-less entry that Carmilla had been running to. Then, she saw two cans roll towards her across the floor, releasing a white cloud of gas as they did, before settling between her and the Sergeant. She looked back up at the robot with the glowing eyes and chest piece, and as she fell to the floor and her eyes fought to stay open there was only one thought in her mind.

_Carmilla..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	21. Chapter 21

“JP, status update.”

Laura felt the wooziness of sleep cling to her body, stubbornly holding onto her bones and muscles. The first thing she was aware of was how dry her mouth was, it felt like something had died in there and it was to the point of a dull aching throb.

She tried to open her eyes but the light was too bright, it hurt her brain and left an uncomfortable prickling sensation in her eye sockets. Instead, she listened and tried to move her brain through the fog.

“The Sergeant is recovering well,” a robotic, yet somehow English, voice from above stated. “The second round of dialysis has been completed and her toxin level has gone down to 20%. The Captain-”

“You know she’s not actually a captain, right Jeep?”

Laura frowned - that sounded like LaFontaine. But they weren’t there, they were at their... Where were they? She groped blindly through her memory, but it was slow work and the words felt _just_ out of reach.

“I am aware, Doctor,” the robotic voice, JP, replied curtly. “Regardless, she’s awake.”

Laura realised they were talking about her.

Someone moved quickly and a shadow fell across her face, blocking the worst of the blinding light and letting Laura crack her eyes open to peer up. If she’d thought her mouth was dry, her eyes were even worse. Even the small amount of air let in by opening them was too much, and it made her squint tighter.

LaFontaine grinned down at her. “Hey Hollis.”

“LaFontaine?” she croaked.

Before she could ask for water, LaFontaine held something up to her face. She realised it was a straw. She tried to move forward to take it into her mouth, but it was as if she was moving underwater, with a head full of cotton balls. LaFontaine gently helped her, putting the straw in her mouth and Laura gratefully took a few gulps.

“You’re okay. The gas knocked you out pretty hard. You might feel pretty weird for a while.”

Laura finished the water in the cup and opened her mouth to let the straw fall from her lips, but it stuck to the dryness of her lips. LaFontaine removed it carefully.

“Do you want more?”

Laura shook her head, and it made her feel overwhelmingly dizzy for a moment. She gave herself a second to steady again. “Where’s Carm?”

LaFontaine moved aside to show Carmilla slumped in a seat, her chin resting on her chest, with a puddle of drool collected on the simple white cotton shirt she was wearing. The pastel pink and orange striped pyjama pants were definitely new.

“I gave her a sedative. Well,” LaFontaine considered it and corrected themselves, “she let me give her a sedative. I wasn’t expecting you to wake up for another six hours.”

“Don’t underestimate a super soldier, Frankenstein.”

Carmilla rolled her neck, wiping her face and stretching out her back, causing the cotton to strain against her chest. Laura’s eyes dropped to the bed.

Carmilla stood and walked over, yawning lazily as she let her half-closed eyes roam over Laura. “How are you feeling, cutie?”

“Amazing,” Laura stated flatly, causing Carmilla to smirk. “Where’s Danny? Is she okay?”

“She’s still recovering,” LaF replied. “She had a lot of toxins in her blood.”

“Toxins?”

Most of the cotton in her head had started to fade now, and she took in her surroundings. She was in what resembled a hospital bed, but definitely not in a hospital room. Instead of solid walls around her there was only plastic sheeting that hung from the ceiling down to the floor. Behind Carmilla, she could see another plastic sheet, through which she made out a fuzzy image of a bed. Danny.

“Going into a nuclear testing site without any protective equipment or medical precautions wasn’t a great idea, Hollis,” LaFontaine chastised her lightly.

“So not my idea,” Laura protested, looking pointedly at Carmilla.

Carmilla just shrugged. “They take tourists around there. I assumed it would be okay.” She sat back in her seat, propping her feet up on Laura’s bed and crossing her arms.

“You think that’s what made Danny hulk out?”

Carmilla snorted at Laura’s choice of words, and Laura felt a glow of pride. For once, she was making the nickname calls and she was pretty damn good at it, if she said so herself.

“Probably,” LaF said. “I think the serum I gave her reacted badly to the traces of radiation. I’m going to have to run more tests, I took a sample of-”

“LaFontaine!” Perry appeared outside the plastic and whipped it aside firmly, storming into the makeshift room. “You were meant to tell me when Laura woke up. JP had to tell me.”

“Thanks for the sell out, Jeep,” LaF muttered at the ceiling.

The answer came from a speaker in the ceiling, surprising Laura, “I’m sorry, Doctor, Miss Perry was quite clear-”

“Don’t blame JP, LaFontaine!” Perry said firmly. She turned her attention to Laura. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

“I’m okay,” Laura replied meekly, not wanting to incense the woman who was clearly well into mothering mode.

“Here, you need to recover.” Perry held a plate of brownies up into Laura’s sight and Laura grinned wide.

“You’re the best, Perr.”

Perry beamed at her.

\---

Laura had wanted to get out of bed as soon as she had recovered complete control of her body, but LaF and Perry had both refused. Apparently she’d gotten a lot more hurt than she’d realised, something about adrenaline keeping her from feeling the extent of her injuries. She had snuck a glance at Carmilla while LaFontaine had been listing off her injuries, so she’d missed most of them, until Carmilla had given her a reproachful eyebrow raise and Laura had tuned back in with a blush.

Eventually, Laura had agreed to stay in bed for at least a few more hours, even as her muscles itched to get her moving again. Satisfied that she wouldn't be staging an escape, Perry and LaFontaine had gone to run more tests on Danny’s blood, leaving Carmilla and Laura in the makeshift hospital area - which Laura realised was in the middle of the LaFontaine family’s massive workshop. It felt weird to be in a hospital style bed when three metres away a robot arm was absently moving pieces of metal around on a bench.

At the far side of the room was a collection of cars, ranging from classic muscle cars all the way up to modern sports cars. (Okay, so the whole billionaire thing was getting a bit more obvious now.) Next to them, she recognised the same gold and red robotic suit that she’d seen just before passing out. It was just a shell now, with the front open and waiting for someone to step into it.

For LaFontaine to step into it, Laura realised in a sudden jolt, feeling extremely sheepish that it had taken her so long to put it together. _That_ was what they had been doing and _that_ was why they were now in the workshop. Originally, she’d just accepted that they were here without questioning why, but this made a lot more sense.

(Maybe she _should_ still be resting in bed.)

Curious to know what else she’d missed, Laura asked, “What happened after I, you know...?”

“Went down for a nap?” Carmilla finished for her. She shrugged, stretching out her body before settling back into the chair and propping her feet up on the bed. “Frankenstein came in, shoved a gas mask on me, gassed you two, and then we bailed.”

“And the base?”

“It was empty. The peons who didn’t get scared off by Sergeant Pepper ran from Astro’s robot show.”

Laura was about to ask about the people in the destroyed tubes, those who had been left - quite literally - hanging, when Carmilla casually commented, “Didn’t get to go all Rambo on the bunker, just called in a clean up crew to get the science experiments out and close it off. No one’s getting back in there any time soon.”

Laura couldn’t help but smile down at her hands. She wasn’t sure if the agent was explaining it for her benefit or not, but either way it made a hope swell so high in her chest that her throat felt full of it.

That was what gave her the confidence to ask, “The Maj-Mist-Major?”

She tried to track the emotions across Carmilla’s face at the stumble with what to call the Mistress, but it was impossible to draw anything from the blank expression her features had arranged themselves into.

“I couldn’t find her,” Carmilla replied in a perfectly even voice.

Laura bit her lip. Part of her was desperate to ask how Carmilla knew her, if she was a part of her past, if she had known her before joining the agency. But, the words to ask them never formed, and instead she asked, “Are you okay?”

Carmilla seemed to turn the question over in her mind, regarding Laura with a considering look. “Raincheck on answering that?”

Laura nodded with a small, tentatively reassuring smile. “Totally.”

Silence settled between them, undefined but calm. Laura wondered if she should have kept her mouth shut, berating herself internally for pushing Carmilla on what was obviously a touchy topic, but before she could get too far into that, Carmilla sank further down into her seat, letting her foot gently nudge Laura’s leg.

It was the smallest of contact, but it was enough to derail Laura’s train of thought and ground her. (It was almost embarrassing how the barest of actions from Carmilla meant the most to Laura.)

Laura pressed back more firmly, drawing Carmilla’s eyes back up to hers. “I like your pants.”

Carmilla scowled, but by the time her eyes had rolled to the side it had turned into a smile. “Shut up, cupcake.”

\---

“Are you planning to take your turn anytime soon or...?” Laura trailed off pointedly, tapping the table in front of her.

“I’m thinking,” Carmilla snapped.

“Secret agent my ass, spending ten minutes taking a turn in Uno,” Laura muttered under her breath as she eyed the stack of playing cards in front of them.

Carmilla scowled and slapped down a green ‘Draw 2’ card onto the pile.

Laura grinned. “I hope you have another one of those, Carm.” She placed another ‘Draw 2’ card on top of the agent’s, and Carmilla swore and collected her penalty from the deck.

“I hate this game.”

Laura surveyed the cards in her hand, before deciding to go a little easier on the agent and putting down a harmless number card. “I used to play with my dad when we’d camp in the backyard.”

Carmilla raised an eyebrow as she reorganised her hand. “You camped in the backyard?”

Laura grimaced and cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah. It was... I don’t know. It was lame, but I-”

“It doesn’t sound lame. It sounds...” Carmilla let out a long breath and then dropped a card onto the pile. “It sounds nice.” Then, she muttered into her hand, “I’m sorry I said I hated it.”

“It’s okay,” Laura replied lightly. “I _am_ totally kicking your butt.” She put down a skip card. “Uno.” She put her last card down with a flourish as she half-danced in her chair and alternated pumping each fist in the air. Carmilla stared down at the card, back up at Laura, and then threw her hand onto the pile, muttering darkly under her breath in a language that Laura was fairly sure wasn’t English.

There was a long groan from Danny’s bed and they shared a look, quickly abandoning the game to push their way into Danny’s section. The Sergeant still had her eyes closed, but she was continuing to groan as she frowned and shifted in the bed. Laura quickly brought over the water jug and cup that had been left by her bedside and Carmilla watched her do so silently, her eyes flicking back over to Danny as Laura filled the cup and waited.

Slowly, Danny’s eyes opened. She squinted at both of them, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Hi,” Laura said quietly as she offered the water forward and Danny gingerly took a sip.

From the foot of the bed, Carmilla tipped her head slightly in greeting. “Nice of you to join us, Agent Orange.”

Danny mumbled something around the straw, which neither of them caught. She pushed the straw out of her mouth and repeated, “ _Sergeant_.”

Carmilla’s eyes smiled as she echoed, “Sergeant.”

LaFontaine and Perry appeared a second later, LaFontaine fussing over the equipment and asking JP to give them a complete condition report on the Sergeant, while Perry continually asked if she wanted anything.

Once Danny had gathered herself enough to form a full sentence, the first thing she asked was, “What are the orders?”

Everyone else turned to Carmilla, who was still standing at the foot of the bed. She seemed caught off guard by all the attention, and shifted uncomfortably under it. “How about you graduate from bed rest before you start asking about orders, GI Jane?”

Danny tried to move into a sitting position, but her face cracked from the pain, so she settled for just slightly propping herself up as she spoke to Carmilla. “I...” Her jaw tensed. Once, twice. Her eyes dropped down to the bed before she took in a quick breath and when she lifted them back to Carmilla they were shining with determination. “I failed. I lost control and I CATFU-ed it.”

“You what?” Laura asked.

“Completely and totally fucked up,” Carmilla replied without breaking eye contact with Danny, who returned the look unflinchingly.

Carmilla looked at LaFontaine. “When will she be recovered?”

“An hour, maybe two?” LaFontaine estimated.

“You said I couldn’t get out of bed for another six hours!” Laura pointed out.

“You _shouldn’t_ be out of bed,” LaFontaine replied. “Sergeant Lawrence didn’t have any injuries.”

Perry squeaked as Danny lifted herself up into a sitting position and swung her legs over the side with a great deal of effort. She stayed there for a moment, her shoulders and head bowed as she recovered from the movements. It was enough to silence the rest of them, as they all watched the Sergeant slowly push forward onto her feet and pull herself up to her full height.

She turned, keeping one hand on the bed, to glower at Carmilla. “Orders, Agent.”

Carmilla looked mildly impressed but she said, “Sit down, Sergeant. I need you mobile, not making your condition worse.”

Danny stayed standing for another moment, before finally giving in and falling back onto the bed with a sharp release of breath.

“Briefing in an hour,” Carmilla said once Danny had caught her breath again. The Sergeant smiled gratefully, but Carmilla didn’t seem to notice as she slyly shot a smirk at Laura. “You ever played Uno, Xena?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	22. Chapter 22

The group had gathered around the huge table in the middle of LaFontaine’s workshop, and Carmilla was projecting a terrain map over the table using her watch. LaFontaine was still looking at it in awe, after having asked Carmilla if it was a piece of ‘Q tech’, they hadn’t stopped staring at it with an entranced expression. As if looking at it would let them know its secrets, because there was no way Carmilla would let them and their inquisitive hands anywhere near it.

Perry was in the other room, insisting that she help them in _her_ way - which was to cook. She had been so frazzled that none of them countered the point. Danny was confined to a wheelchair for the present time, after a brief but fiery argument with LaFontaine, which included LaF pointing out that in a wheelchair she was only slightly shorter than Laura.

Laura had been less than thrilled about that.

Carmilla was standing at the head of the table, and she looked like she’d much rather be anywhere else in the world right now, as she began the briefing.

“The organisation we’re up against is Coronis. They’ve been around for decades. They deal in the shadows of war rooms, manipulating countries and situations to their advantage. They don’t have any loyalty, compassion, or mercy.” Carmilla’s eyes connected with Laura’s briefly before she shifted away, to look at the others around the room. “They’re one of the most dangerous, and difficult to pin down. There are very few members. They mostly hire out mercenaries, who end up dead sooner or later.”

“What’s with the Boogeyman speech?” LaFontaine asked, trying to make their voice light, even though their skin was a shade paler.

“I need you all to understand what we’re going up against. None of you belong in this fight, but you’ve all proven yourself enough that if you wish to join...” She sighed deeply. “You can.”

“Oh the rallying cry,” LaFontaine deadpanned.

Carmilla’s eyes flashed dangerously. “If you need me to rally you, you shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh relax, Karnstein.” LaFontaine waved her off. “It’s the reason I made the suit, which may I add, did awesomely in the bunker.”

Carmilla rolled her eyes, but didn’t deny it, as she looked over at Danny and Laura. They both looked back at her for a moment, before Laura asked, “Oh, me? Duh.”

Carmilla’s gaze finally fell to Danny, who crossed her arms and scoffed, “Please. Like it’s a question.”

“Fine.” Carmilla looked mildly annoyed by the company that she’d have in the mission, but Laura only felt grateful. Carmilla’s explanation had unsettled Laura’s stomach further. Seeing Carmilla, the effect that the Mistress had on her, it all set Laura on edge and the sooner they could get this over and done with the better.

But, somehow, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy.

Carmilla pulled the projection down closer to the table top, so that they could all see it easier. Or, at least, so Danny could see it easier from her wheelchair.

“We tagged the transport leaving the nuclear bunker and tracked it to the Rockies before it disappeared.” Carmilla nodded at the blue, holographic mountain range over the table.

“You think they have a place in the mountains?” Danny asked.

“That’s the assumption,” Carmilla replied in an annoyed tone.

LaFontaine leaned closer, their eyes searching the map. “I can send some overheads. Get some thorough scans, see if there’s any heat in there.”

“You have drones?” Carmilla asked sourly.

LaFontaine grimaced as they leaned back and met Carmilla’s eyes slowly. “Not, like, weaponised ones. Information gathering only, scout's honour.” They did a scout’s salute, but Carmilla looked less than impressed.

When it became obvious that Carmilla had abandoned the role of leader to instead glare at LaFontaine, Laura asked, “How long would it take?”

Grateful to for the distraction from Carmilla’s glare, LaFontaine replied, “An hour to gather it, and then it’ll take JP five to analyse it.”

“Four and a half,” JP countered in a miffed voice.

“Right, sorry, Jeep.”

Laura nodded. “Alright, let’s do that and work from there.”

LaFontaine agreed as they grabbed one of the clear glass tablets and started to input information as they wandered off, discussing things with JP. Carmilla stalked off in the opposite direction, the map collapsing as she did.

Laura looked at Danny, who was still staring at the table where the map had been.

“Are you okay?”

Danny’s eyes snapped up to Laura, and Laura was thrown off by how surprised she seemed that Laura was still there. The Sergeant was usually painfully aware of her surroundings, so seeing her caught off guard was rare and unsettling.

“What?” Danny asked, not impolitely, just caught in the middle of a train of thought that left her lost.

“Are you okay?” Laura repeated, softer than before. “After what happened...”

Regret fell into the lines of the Sergeant’s face, deepening and lengthening them.

“LaFontaine said it was the radiation,” Laura said, her stomach swirling with regret that she’d brought something up that had such an effect on Danny.

“Yeah, they told me,” Danny said in an absent voice so quiet it sounded like it was coming from another room.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself.”

Laura had been trying to help, but Danny winced as if she’d slapped her across the face. “Who else would I blame?” Laura spotted Danny clenching and unclenching her fists in her lap. “I lost control. It’s a miracle I didn’t hurt either of you.” She let loose a dry, hateful laugh. “You know the worst part, is I don’t remember it. I remember trying to hold on, I remember telling you to leave, but... in the end, it was like-like being pulled under. Like feeling the waves take you away, and you fight it, and you try, but eventually you just let yourself slip.”

Laura’s mouth felt dry and she struggled to swallow as she weakly said, “It wasn’t you. It was the serum, it reacted...”

Danny shook her head. “I chose the serum.” She let out a noisy breath through her nose. “I was jealous. I was stupid. I wanted to do my duty, and I didn’t care about the consequences or the risks. I blindly followed a traitor and almost killed the people who were on the right side.”

Danny’s eyes met Laura’s and Laura couldn’t help but stumble under the weight of the underlying apology. She’d never expected the Sergeant to apologise, or even address what had happened at the dam.

Before Laura could figure out what to say, Danny continued with a ghost of a sigh, “And now, I’m no better than a rabid dog.” Then, quieter, she muttered, “Karnstein’s right.”

“Don’t let Carmilla hear you say that,” Laura joked. When Danny didn’t react, Laura berated herself and rounded the table so that she was next to Danny. Danny’ didn’t look up at her, so Laura started to talk anyway. “You’re a good soldier, Danny.”

Danny didn’t respond, but a fresh wave of tension rolled off her.

“But,” Laura started carefully, “you’re a lot more than that.” Laura hesitated, trying to find the right words. “You took a risk because you thought it was the right thing to do, with the information that you had. You shouldn’t blame yourself for that.” Laura paused and then added, “I don’t.”

It took a moment, but finally, Danny looked up at her again and Laura offered her a small smile, trying to help reassure her.

“Plus, I’m sure LaF can come up with some science-y thing to stop you from going all ‘grr’ when there’s radiation around. Or, knock you out.”

Danny didn’t smile, but her voice was gentle as she said, “Thanks, Hollis.”

Laura’s smile brightened. “Anytime, Lawrence.” Her smile dropped into a solemn expression. “You don’t have to come, if you’re worried. But... I trust you.”

Danny’s eyes searched Laura’s for a long moment, and Laura realised for the first time how blue Danny’s eyes were. And how sad they were.

Finally, Danny nodded and Laura felt a fraction of the weight lift from her chest.

\---

Lying on top of the flat roof, Laura concentrated on the feeling of the cold concrete seeping through her clothes. This was the closest she’d come to being affected by temperature and as she stared up at the night sky, she let herself sink into the nostalgia.

The LaFontaine house was built on a cliff, an architectural marvel that Laura was sure had been photographed for a variety of magazines. It was gorgeous, truly, but more than anything Laura appreciated the remoteness of the location, which meant less light pollution, which meant more stars.

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world.”

Laura didn’t have to look over to know it was Carmilla; the agent’s drawl was unmistakeable.

“How’d you get up here?” Laura asked, her eyes still tracing the paths along the sky that she’d followed with her father so many times before.

Carmilla dropped down next to Laura, but instead of lying down, she propped herself up with her arms. “Well if I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“And the Captain has claws.”

They fell into a companionable silence; Laura running through the stories her father had told her of the stars, while Carmilla watched the steadily crashing waves of the ocean in front of them.

“I used to stargaze with my dad,” Laura started to speak before she’d even thought about what she was saying. She was surprised by the raspiness of her voice, but it wasn’t enough to stop the words spilling from her mouth unchecked. “When I was young. When we’d camp in our backyard. He used to tell me stories, these beautiful, _beautiful_ stories. And his voice was so deep, and so thick, and warm. It would make his chest rumble and when I think about it, I can still feel the... the resonance, I guess? In my chest. As if...” She let out a shuddering breath. “I don’t know.” She laughed, and it came out more bitterly than she meant it to. “It’s dumb.”

Laura could feel Carmilla’s eyes on her, and she crumbled under it, shaking her head and quickly undercutting her words, “I-I don’t... It’s stupid. Ignore me.”

Carmilla’s fingers, as cold as the stone beneath them, pressed against the top of Laura’s hand.

“Tell me a story.”

Laura searched the sky above them, flicking through the stories, trying to decide which to tell. Finally, she settled on one and pointed above them, to the easy to spot pattern. To follow Laura’s gesture, Carmilla lay down next to her, their shoulders and arms pushed against each other, as Carmilla tilted her head against Laura’s.

“Do you see - it’s two lines. Sort of like a bow and arrow. Right there?”

Laura didn’t notice Carmilla’s slow look from her face, down her arm, and eventually up into the night. She was silent for a moment and then her hand joined Laura’s in the sky, tracing out the pattern she’d picked out. “There?”

“Yeah.” Laura swallowed the lump in her throat as she let her hand drop back down to her side, and with the lack of space Carmilla had left between them, that meant it was resting over the agent’s. “That’s Cygnus.”

She gathered herself, pulling together the words that her father used to use.

“See the super bright star at the tail? That star is called Deneb; it’s a blue supergiant, so it’s actually pretty young. And the bill of the swan, that’s Albireo. It’s two stars, amber and blue. The contrast is one of my favourite things - they’re so different, but when they come together they make this really-” Laura turned her face to Carmilla’s, and when she saw the agent was looking back at her, she lost her words in the back of her throat.

The agent almost seemed bashful as she turned her attention back to the constellation. Laura let her eyes stay on Carmilla’s profile for a second longer before she cleared her throat and tried to find her words again.

“Um, so, Cygnus. No one knows which myth it’s meant to be tied to, there are a few different ones it could, but... The one I like is where Cygnus is a friend of Phaethon, the son of Apollo. Phaethon falls into the river Eridanus. Which is actually, down there.” Laura carefully traced the complex line. “So, um, Phaethon tries to drive Apollo’s chariot and loses control and ends up crashing into the river. And Cygnus, he keeps diving and diving into this river to search for him. And, eventually, out of pity, Zeus turns him into a swan.”

“That’s tragic, cupcake.”

“I don’t know...” Laura felt the tips of her ears heat up. “I kind of like it.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Carmilla said, but didn’t clarify herself any further. Then, she added slyly, “Are you sure they were just friends?”

Laura laughed so hard that she snorted, and quickly covered her mouth, but tiny giggles still spilled from her lips. She didn’t know why she was laughing so hard; maybe it was because Carmilla had voiced the idea that she’d had in the back of her head every time her dad told her the story, maybe it was because she was stargazing with a secret agent on top of a multi-million dollar house, maybe it was because she needed some way to push off the blanket of heaviness that she felt wrapped in and this was the easiest way to do it.

Either way, it ended with them both looking at each other, and Laura’s giggles fading as she realised she was close enough to count Carmilla’s eyelashes.

As Carmilla breathed out, Laura breathed in, and her heart thumped so hard in her chest that she tasted it in her throat. She swallowed and prayed it wasn’t obvious, but Carmilla’s eyes flicked down and either she was staring at Laura’s throat for swallowing like _inhumanly_ loudly, or she was staring at Laura’s mouth, and both options made Laura’s heart pound even faster.

And then Carmilla’s eyes were back on Laura’s and she was giving her this _look_. This naked, young look, and somehow Laura knew that this was not a look that Carmilla gave. This wasn’t measured, or planned, or graceful - this was messy, and vulnerable, and _terrified_.

“Did you ever stargaze?” Laura asked quietly, because she needed to say something to break the tension between them. Her mind was full of other questions about Carmilla’s past; about why she didn’t have a normal childhood, about her favourite colour, about why she knew so much about Coronis, about what her favourite time of day was, about how she knew the Mistress, about her parents.

The weird thing was, Laura felt like if she’d asked any of those right now Carmilla may have actually answered them, but she didn’t want to take them from her like that. So she asked about the stars instead.

Carmilla swallowed and her eyes slid back up to the sky, shifting but not moving away from Laura. “When I was young, my bed was next to the window so when I couldn’t sleep I’d look up at them. I didn’t know any stories, but I used to wonder about who else might be looking up at them. What their lives were like, if they had families, if they were loved. I’d make stories up in my head about them, a child with a mother that smelled like freshly baked bread, and a father with roughly calloused, giant hands. Princesses in ballrooms, dancing the waltz with princes and dukes. Ballerinas performing their first Nutcracker with the Bolshoi.”

Carmilla’s voice had barely been above a whisper, but each word had been clear and Laura felt it in her chest. Like the resonance of her father, but different, more like a spider web across her ribs than a deep ache.

It took Laura a moment to realise that Carmilla was shaking, and her heart tightened. “Are you-?”

“Don’t ask me if I’m okay,” Carmilla interrupted her, and Laura felt tears fill her throat at the broken sound of Carmilla’s voice. “Please. I can’t- I can’t.... Right now.” Then, quietly, “I can’t believe I didn’t know. I didn’t know it was her.”

Laura didn’t have to ask which ‘her’ she was referring to.

“She was the closest thing I had to a mother. How pitiful is that?” Carmilla let out a shuddering breath and Laura watched the condensation rise and forced her hands to fists to stop herself from reaching for her. She could tell from the agent’s tensed shoulders that this wasn’t the time. Not yet.

“I don’t know what happened to my parents. She found me at an orphanage when I was five. She taught me a lot.” Laura remembered the exchange between them - _“I’m glad you haven’t forgotten everything I’ve taught you.” “I haven’t forgotten a single thing.”_ \- and her blood chilled. “I thought I loved her. When I still thought I could.”

“You don’t think you can love?” Laura asked before she could stop herself.

Carmilla’s eyes slipped back down to Laura’s and something in her face made Laura’s entire world shift.

“I didn’t.”

The use of past tense rang through Laura’s head, echoing and growing and shrinking as she stared at Carmilla. All the things they’d left unsaid, all the things that Laura had stubbornly pushed aside, came rushing to the surface so quickly that her head spun.

Suddenly, every second that ticked by was full of an impossible weight, and every part of Laura screamed at her to do something, to say something, to, to-

“Oh,” she whispered through barely parted lips.

Laura saw Carmilla’s face fall, just a fraction, and the wall start to slam back up. Desperate to stop it, she closed the space in between them, and their noses collided.

When she’d first moved it had been on the instinct to kiss her, but then she thought about what Carmilla had said, about the terrified look on her face, and she’d stopped just short. Now, they both stayed still, right in front of each other, but neither daring to move.

Carmilla closed her eyes, and Laura followed suit a second later. They stayed like that, underneath the stars, and the night, and the weight of their pasts.

Laura was the first to open her eyes. “Maybe,” she started slowly, careful to keep her voice level, “after everything settles down we can talk.” She bit her lip, willing herself to keep breathing. “If we survive,” she added, and it was meant to be a joke but it came out more ominous than she’d meant it and _God_ why was she crying?

Carmilla’s eyes opened and she studied Laura’s face for a long moment. Then, in a voice that sounded like a promise of devotion, she repeated, “If we survive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	23. Chapter 23

“Where have you two been?” The now standing and, for the most part, recovered Sergeant eyed Carmilla and Laura as they walked into the workshop.

“Stargazing, obviously,” Carmilla replied. She eyed the white golf cart behind Danny. “What’s with the nerd mobile?”

Danny scowled, obviously thinking that Carmilla was trying to annoy her with a sarcastic response. “Get in. We’re meeting LaFontaine and Perry at the hangar.”

“And you know the way?”

“I will be driving, Agent Karnstein,” JP’s voice came from the cart.

“Of course.” Carmilla climbed behind the wheel and patted the seat next to her. “Cap.”

Danny’s scowl deepened and Carmilla just winked at her. “Chain of command, Sergeant.”

With a disgruntled huff, Danny got into the opposite-facing rear seat, and the cart took off with a whirr.

Laura snuck a few glances over at the agent - also, her profile was _ridiculous_ \- they hadn’t spoken any more after the roof. She was certain that she’d only asked her to sit next to her to annoy Danny, but there was a small bloom of hope in her chest that suggested it was more.

Before she could turn the idea over in her head anymore, Carmilla put an arm across the back of their seat and twisted to ask Danny, “So did they brief you on anything, or are they going for the dramatic reveal?”

“They’re a civilian. What do you think?” Danny replied and Carmilla smirked.

The agent turned back around, but didn’t move her arm, and Laura took that as a good sign. It was a good sign, right? Their conversation had been poetic, but it hadn’t been very explicit or explanatory so it had left Laura largely unsure of where it left them.

Carmilla’s thumb nudged Laura’s shoulder and Laura glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. Carmilla wasn’t looking at her but her face was relaxed.

Laura bit back a smile.

The golf cart had left the house via the garage door, and was now zipping down a path away from the house.

Given that they were on a billionaire’s property, Laura had expected it to look different. More bushes shaped like fancy things, and maybe a peacock or other exotic animals. Instead, it was just a well-kept massive yard, with grass and the occasional gathering of bushes and trees.

It wasn’t hard to spot the hangar, a hulking building with a huge section of tarmac in front of it, because of course they had their own runway.

Carmilla and Danny both seemed unimpressed by the personal hangar, and Laura briefly wondered what kind of things they’d been exposed to by the agency, before they reached the side door of the hanger and it slid open for the golf cart.

Inside the hangar was no less impressive, with two jets sitting dormant on the shining concrete floor, and a fleet of golf carts over to the side next to the office. Their cart joined the others and LaFontaine came to greet them, their hair sticking up at odd angles and a streak of grease down the side of their face.

“Hey guys.” They wiped their face with the back of their hand, spreading more grease. “Jeep’s analysed the data and looks like you were right about the mountain.” They made a broad gesture with their left arm, which was encased in a robotic sleeve that went from their elbow down to their fingers. A projector from the top corner of the hangar threw forward a huge, faint representation of the mountain. It rotated on the spot slightly and LaF gestured again, zooming in on the top of the mountain and showing a cross section of it.

Instead of the rock that you’d expect to find in a mountain, there was a large hollow, and LaFontaine pointed to it. “There’s a man made cavern, and it’s full of tech. It’s too deep into the mountain to tell what it is exactly, but the whole thing lit up like a Christmas tree when Elroy scanned it.”

“Elroy?” Carmilla echoed.

“I watched a lot of the Jetsons,” LaF explained in a dismissive wave of their hand. “It’ll take an hour and a half to get there by jet. I figure we go in for the stealth approach, try and figure out what’s going on, and boom take down the bad guys?”

Laura realised that everyone was looking at her and she cleared her throat quickly. “Yeah, totally, great plan.”

LaFontaine cleared their throat, and added, “I also scanned the area for radiation.”

Laura felt Danny tense next to her.

LaFontaine gave her the most reassuring smile they could. “All clear.”

Danny relaxed slightly, but her replying nod was still stiff.

“Anyway,” LaFontaine continued, quick to move on, “I figured the best jet for the mission would be the AR-008.” They gestured to the jet closest to them, a sleek looking craft with a matte black exterior. It looked like a bird of prey, with wings curved over like talons, but LaFontaine seemed surprisingly unenthusiastic about it.

The uninventive name caught Laura as odd, until she spotted the ‘LaFontaine Industries’ stamp on the body of the jet, just in front of the wing. Of course. It was from their father’s company, and so, lacked the uniquely LaF twist.

“The AR’s got a stealth system that should avoid detection, plus basic visual camouflage,” LaFontaine explained in a bored, factual tone. They pressed a button on the robotic sleeve, and the jet shimmered out of view.

Laura stepped forward, staring at the spot that the jet had been, and moved her head from side to side, watching the image of the hangar wall behind distort, as if the jet had been replaced by a huge curved lens. Laura reached out, and her hand came in contact with the cool metal, causing a ripple of disturbance in the panel’s camouflage.

She turned back to the other three, who still looked unimpressed by the whole thing - which, seriously? It was a freaking invisible jet, and they were acting as if it was a toaster.

Actually, Laura had seen LaFontaine get _more_ excited over a toaster that they’d rebuilt with a targeted spring mechanism that delivered pieces of toast directly to your plate.

“I guess I’ll fly it,” LaFontaine sighed.

“Don’t be silly, LaFontaine.” Perry emerged from the office, with a tub of baked goods and a pile of clothing in her arms. “I’ll fly the plane, you should test out the flying capabilities of the suit.”

LaFontaine’s expression immediately rearranged, as they let out a whoop of delight, running over to Perry, to scoop her up from behind and spin her in a circle while kissing her on the cheek. “Perr, you’re the best!”

Perry laughed warmly and when LaFontaine put her back down, she juggled everything she was holding into one hand and used the rag in their front pocket to clean the grease off their face. “Go get suited up.”

Like a kid eager for Christmas, they jumped into one of the golf carts and headed back to the house to get their suit.

Carmilla fake coughed. “Civilians.”

Danny snickered, but when Perry’s eyes landed on her sharply, she hastily turned it into a cough, waving her free hand in front of her face as if there was a lot of dust in the air.

Perry looked unconvinced, but didn’t say anything as she started handing the uniforms out. Carmilla and Danny’s hadn’t changed - a jumpsuit and black stealth ops uniform respectively - but Laura’s was a brand new design.

“The material used in these is something LaFontaine developed, the Kevlar has not only been coated with a nano-silica composite but...”

Perry continued to say monosyllabic science words, but Laura didn’t catch them. Instead, she was staring down at the uniform that she’d been handed. There, emblazoned across the chest was a white star. It matched her shield, and Laura couldn’t help but grip the material tighter between her fingers as she looked down at it.

Perry must have noticed, because once she’d finished explaining the upgrades to the other two, she approached Laura.

“I took some liberties with the design,” she said quietly.

Laura hadn’t taken her eyes off the star yet. “Yeah, I... I can see that.” The material was light in her hands, but the uniform felt heavy.

“I thought...” Perry’s fingertips brushed away a non-existent piece of lint from the border of the star. “I thought it would be good to have an image. A symbol.” She withdrew her fingers and a light blush coloured her cheeks. “LaFontaine used to read a lot of comic books, and I- I may have picked up the habit.”

Laura finally met Perry’s eyes and she smiled genuinely. “It’s amazing. Thank you.”

Perry ducked under Laura’s praise, her blush deepening. “The other two are changing in the office, you can use the bathroom if you want?”

Laura wasn’t sure if Perry had planned that to give Laura privacy, but she appreciated it. Mostly because she really wanted to get a good look at the uniform. (Also, being naked in a room with Carmilla right now was detrimental to the whole focus-now-talk-later thing.)

The hangar bathroom was surprisingly cramped. Shoved against one wall was a toilet and shower cubicle, while the other had a grease-stained sink, with a piece of soap that was more black than the original pink. The shower cubicle didn’t even have a wall, just a small ledge on the ground and shower curtain, yellowing where the metal rings held it up.

Laura slipped into the uniform, revelling at the thick, yet comfortable material that fit perfectly. She didn’t really want to question how Perry had gotten her exact measurements, but _wow_ tailor-made was the way to go.

She took in the sight of herself in the small mirror over the sink. (She may have had to stand flush against the opposite wall to see her whole torso in the mirror, but that wasn’t something she’d be admitting anytime soon.)

Apart from the white star shining from the chest, the uniform was mostly dark blue. There were red and white stripes running from the bottom of her ribs to her hips. For storage there was a brown leather holster strapped to her thigh, and a belt with a few already-stocked compartments - from the standard issue grenades, to the more unique ones that had LaFontaine written all over them.

She grinned. Carmilla wouldn’t be the only one with a badass belt.

The final touch was the most _kick-ass_ leather gloves and boots that she’d ever seen. They were incredibly comfortable and thick; if the cold was still something she worried about, they definitely would have kept it at bay. She made a fist with her hand and experimentally thrust forward, the glove adding a satisfyingly powerful feeling to the punch.

It was weird how much difference a uniform could make. She barely recognised her reflection, even her face looked different. Leaner, but in a way that had little to do with muscle. It was in her eyes.

She looked like a superhero.

She left the bathroom and found the rest of them waiting for her in front of the jet. Perry’s face broke into a huge smile, LaFontaine gave her two thumbs up and an excited ‘super cool, Hollis!’, Danny managed a small smile, and Carmilla smirked.

When Laura reached them, Carmilla’s smirk grew. “Definitely Captain America.”

Laura accepted the shield off LaFontaine and rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”

Carmilla saluted exaggeratedly. “Aye aye, Cap’n.”

Still, she couldn’t help but sneak a smile at Carmilla as the rest of them started prepping to leave.

\---

The sky stretched out in front of them, a beautiful endlessly black expanse over the cloud floor, while the moon hung full and large to their side. Ahead of them, LaFontaine was diving through the top of clouds, trailing streaks across the black.

The interior of the jet matched the exterior. It was compact, basically just a cockpit, and the entire front and sides had a spread of complicated looking controls with lights that flashed on and off. Perry was handling it without any issue, and with JP as her co-pilot, Laura was thankful that she wouldn’t have to try and figure out which switch to flick or lever to pull.

She and Carmilla were in the seats flanking Perry’s, while Danny had been relegated to the the back. Carmilla had made a half-strength jab at the Sergeant’s seating allocation, but Danny hadn’t reacted, just taking her seat and breathing in a slow, steady rhythm. If Laura hadn’t already seen the Sergeant do a HALO jump, she would have thought that she was scared of flying.

Laura unclipped her seatbelt.

“Captain,” the control console blinked as JP spoke. “I do suggest you remain in the seat for the entirety of the flight.”

“I’ll just be a second, Jeep.”

She held onto the back of her seat to steady herself as she got used to the feeling of standing up on the speeding jet plane. Once she’d gotten her air legs (side note: air legs was a great phrase and she was totally going to use that in the future), she went past Carmilla who had buried her nose in the plane manual before they’d taken off and not looked up since, to where Danny was strapped into the middle seat of the bench along the wall.

Danny’s face was a purely blank slate, with her eyes closed and her hands resting on the top of her knees.

Laura dropped into the seat next to her. “Hi.”

Danny opened one eye to peer over at Laura. “Hollis.” She closed her eye again, her face calm and still.

“How are you feeling?”

Danny let loose a quiet breath, and opened both her eyes, turning to Laura. “I’m good.” She paused and then added, “Thanks.”

“Are you nervous?”

Instead of answering the question, Danny said, “There isn’t any radiation.”

Laura felt her eyebrows start to draw together but she carefully smoothed her expression. “I know.”

Danny drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I won’t be hulking out.”

Laura was caught between being flattered that Danny had used her word, and curious about the conviction in her tone.

“This thing, this serum...” Danny stared down at her fists as she clenched and unclenched them. “I need more time to understand it, to control it. Until then, I don’t want to risk it.” She raised her eyes back to Laura’s and asked, “Is that okay?’

Laura lost her words for a moment at Danny, Sergeant Danny Lawrence, asking _her_ if it was okay. Hell, Danny asking her if anything was okay was just...

She realised Danny was waiting for a response and she quickly nodded. “Uh, yeah, of course, totally. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Danny relaxed visibly and Laura was struck with the very, very weird idea that maybe Danny had been nervous to ask. However, before she could try to find any answers in Danny’s expression, the Sergeant returned to her previous position with her eyes closed and head resting against the wall of the jet.

Figuring their conversation was over, Laura went back to her seat feeling both glad and puzzled at how easy that encounter had been compared to their previous ones. It was a nice change, it was just... an adjustment.

She spotted LaFontaine through the window, doing spins against the hull, and smiled. Despite everything, she had a good feeling about this.

\---

“Brace yourselves!” Danny roared as an explosion ripped through the wing of the jet plane. She ripped open the panel on the side, to grab out one of the parachute packs. “Open the back door!”

At her command, the back door pulled open to reveal the ground, which was still far off, but getting closer at an uncomfortable rate.

“You three, eject. I’ll meet you on the ground.” Without further explanation, Danny dove out of the plane.

Perry flicked up the cover of her chair’s side arm, pushing the red button and sending her and her seat shooting up out of the plane.

“Laura, go!” Carmilla shouted over the sound of the wind that was now tearing through the plane.

Laura scrabbled along the top of the arm cover, fear shaking her fingers, before she finally got it off and jammed the button down.

Nothing happened.

Her stomach dropped.

“My eject,” she shouted, “it-it’s not working!”

Around them the plane screamed as it continued to spin down.

Carmilla swore loudly and unclipped her seatbelt, fighting against the forces of physics as she made her way to where Danny had found the parachutes. She thrust the pack at Laura. “There’s only one chute, you take it and I’ll eject.”

“What if yours doesn’t work either?” Laura asked, her voice edging on hysterical.

“It’ll work. Go!”

As quickly as she could, Laura stepped into the chute pack, her fingers fumbling as she strapped herself in and performed as many of the checks as she could remember. When she was finally ready, she gestured Carmilla back to her chair. “You eject first.”

With a small shake of her head, Carmilla leaned forward and shoved Laura out of the plane.

It felt like air was being forced into and out of her lungs at the same time, the altitude a sharp slap to her body. She spun wildly, before remembering her training and stabilising herself, getting her bearings and spotting the chute that Danny had released. She aimed herself for the Sergeant, ignoring the screaming in her head.

She quickly checked the altimeter connected to the pack, watching the numbers and running through her training over and over in her head. Once she hit the sweet spot she deployed her parachute. It was less smooth than it should have been, but that was the least of her worries as she caught sight of the jet continuing to spiral out of control and leaving a plume of black smoke trailing after it. She watched as it crashed into the side of a mountain, demolishing the trees and sending a huge fireball into the sky.

 _Oh God_.

She tapped her earpiece. “Carmilla? Carmilla, did you make it out?” She was practically screaming to be heard over the wind.

There was nothing but static.

Laura hit the ground but her body didn’t seem to be cooperating, so she didn’t crumple to absorb the shock. Instead, it ripped through her body, making her feel like she’d hit a brick wall. Which didn’t even compare to the feeling she was getting from her silent earpiece. The chute messily collapsed around her and she didn’t even care. She didn’t care because Carmilla-

Danny was running full pelt at her, waving her arms through the air crazily, in an overly dramatic gesture that could only mean stop. She was shouting something, but she was still too far for her voice to carry over the distance properly. Why didn’t she just use the radio to-?

“...SILENCE! RADIO SILENCE! RADIO SILENCE!”

Oh.

Laura really desperately wanted to be swallowed up by the ground as she realised that the reason Carmilla hadn’t answered was that she couldn’t. They were meant to be on radio silence to stop the enemy from intercepting their communication and triangulating their location. Which Laura had just broken. Possibly further sabotaging the mission that had already gone not so great.

Once Danny finally got to her, she looked ready to launch into a lecture about radio silence when, thankfully, LaFontaine landed with Perry in their arms and Carmilla hanging onto their back.

“I took out the turret that shot you guys down, but the stealth approach is obviously out,” LaF said as they let Perry down.

Carmilla hopped off LaFontaine’s back, looking like she’d much rather not experience that again.

“What are our options?” Danny asked, giving Laura one last look before focusing on their next step.

“We storm the castle, guns blazing. I’ll take out the heavy machinery, you guys deal with the grunts,” LaFontaine suggested, shrugging the suit’s shoulders. The other three shared a look, and all seemed to agree - it wasn’t much for tactics, but LaFontaine’s suit would hopefully give them the advantage they needed.

“Our route out though...” LaF’s hesitation came through, even with their slightly mechanised voice. “I mean, I could get Jeep to get another of my jets here, but it’ll take an hour and a half. And apparently the LaFontaine Industries stealth systems aren’t up to scratch.” To themselves, they muttered, “I knew I should have looked over them.”

“Why don’t you drop me off a few kilometres away and I’ll meet Jeep and the jet there?” Perry suggested.

“Good idea, Perr.” LaFontaine nodded and picked her up again. “You three start making your way to the mountain, I’ll meet you in a few minutes.”

Just like that, LaFontaine took off again, leaving them standing in the middle of the grass clearing.

“Come on,” Danny said gruffly, as she readjusted the pack on her shoulders and started jogging towards the mountain. “We’ve got a way to go.”

Laura packed away the chute pack and checked the shield at her back, even though she knew it was still secured to the uniform. She felt the familiar urge to strap it to her arm, to try and recover the feeling of control. She pushed the feeling back, pushed all of her weak feelings back. All that mattered right now was the mission.

Carmilla tapped her on the elbow as she slid in next to her.

“Don’t worry about the Amazon getting her dog tags into a bunch. We were already compromised.” Laura mustn’t have looked convinced because Carmilla offered her a small smile and cocked her head. “Come on, Cap. Let’s go wreak some havoc.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	24. Chapter 24

Laura stared up at the warning sign bolted to the chain fence that Danny had already hauled herself over and asked, “Do you think that’s a real sign?”

Carmilla glanced at the sign that she apparently hadn’t noticed until then. She seemed fairly unimpressed by the ‘Closed: Avalanche Area’, as she turned back to Laura. “If you had a secret base in a mountain, would you want people wandering around and maybe finding the entrance?”

Laura eyed the snow-capped mountains and shook her head. “You’re right.”

Something in Carmilla’s eyes melted and she held her hands out. “Need a boost?”

“I can manage.” Laura grabbed onto the fence, curling her fingers through the holes, and pulling herself up and over easily. Yet somehow, Carmilla still beat her to the other side.

As she landed the sound of an airborne craft caught her attention and she looked up to see LaFontaine descending, the rockets on their feet and hands firing on low as they eased their way down to them.

“Glad you could make it, Astro.”

Ignoring Carmilla, LaF gestured up the mountain. “It’s a 15 minute hike to the entrance Elroy picked up. I’ll go ahead, get their attention and give you guys some cover fire for when you get there.”

After a small pause to check if anyone had any objections, LaFontaine took off around the side of the mountain towards the entrance.

“We should have tagged in the Tin Can ages ago,” Carmilla observed as they all started to jog after them.

Laura could feel Carmilla’s eyes on her but she didn’t reply, her mind was too busy to scrounge up a response as she followed the Sergeant up the mountain. The weight of her mistake sat uncomfortably in her chest, and it made the tailored uniform feel too tight against her skin. She tugged the collar, desperate to feel like she could breathe again.

Risking herself for a good cause was something that hadn’t taken a lot of thought, but the idea that she could do something to hurt the rest of them... The reality of that had only just hit her, and she didn’t know how she hadn’t thought of it earlier.

Lost in her guilt, she hadn’t noticed that Danny had stopped, and almost collided into her. Several boulders blocked off the path that they'd taken - _avalanche area_ repeated in Laura’s head - and Danny started scouting the area to find a way around them. There was a steep ledge to the side, a narrow foothold that could be used to get further up to a wider path, but it was well above the other two’s reach.

Without hesitation, Danny hoisted herself up onto it, then anchored into a kneeling position and offered down a hand. Carmilla stepped forward first, jumping to reach Danny’s outstretched hand. Once the Sergeant pulled her onto the ledge, she climbed up to the higher path, and Danny turned to Laura.

“I can probably, um, reach,” Laura mumbled, feeling very small under Danny’s eyes.

“Hollis.”

When Laura’s gaze met Danny’s, the rough impatience that she’d been expecting was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Danny gave her a knowing look and gestured forward with her hand.

Laura grabbed on and let the Sergeant pull her up with a surprising amount of ease.

“Thanks,” Laura said as she stood on the ledge, hugging the rock face.

Danny just nodded, with the same look in her eyes, and suddenly the uniform didn’t feel so tight against Laura’s skin.

From the path above, Carmilla scoffed, “What is that pile of nuts and bolts doing?”

The answer came in the form of an explosion that rumbled through the mountain and Laura pressed herself in harder to the mountain - _avalanche, avalanche, avalanche_ \- to ride out the tiny echoes that shuddered through the rock and sent down a fine spray of dust.

“Thanks for the warning, Astro,” Carmilla’s voice filtered over the comms system snarkily.

“What happened to radio silence?” LaFontaine asked. Gunfire sounded in the distance, as well as tinnily over the radio.

“Radio silence works better when you _don’t_ blow a hole in their front door,” Carmilla replied.

Laura saw Danny roll her eyes before she shared a look with Laura and they both pulled themselves up to the path ahead.

From up here, Laura could clearly see the bullets flying out of the entrance fifty metres away.

“So,” LaF said slowly, “I may have miscalculated.”

Carmilla and Danny sighed at the same time.

\---

Laura ducked behind the pile of metal crates just inside the entrance, taking cover from the barrage of fire from the two, no, three turret guns aimed at them. The defensive line of fire had kept them trapped in the entry hallway, a long room with a high curved roof and painted lines along the ground that seemed to signal a runway.

Danny made a frustrated sound from the other side of Carmilla, pressing her finger to her earpiece. “We need to get the turrets cleared, LaFontaine.”

Over the comms, LaF replied, “Oh, really? I thought the bullets provided ambiance.” Two explosions went off, one after the other, and they grunted. “They’re armoured.”

Something occurred to Laura and she joined the radio conversation. “Care to give me a lift, LaF?”

There was a moment of silence, and then, “I like the way you think, Hollis.”

LaFontaine swept back towards them, and Laura leapt up to grab onto their outstretched arm, tucking her legs up so that the majority of her body was behind the shield. LaFontaine ducked and weaved, so that they missed the majority of the bullets. A few hit Laura’s shield, and were easily deflected. Laura peered past the shield briefly to take in the layout of the room, and spotted the three covered turrets on the top of heavily armoured vehicles that resembled tanks. They were in a V configuration, the middle one further forward than the rest.

Behind the turrets was an armoured bunker about six feet long that looked like it had recently been secured to the floor. It was mostly made of metal, painted dark green, and Laura spotted the muzzles of guns poking out of a thin hole at the front.

As LaFontaine swung to the side of the rightmost turret, Laura brought her legs in even tighter, winding up the muscles in her body as if tightening a spring and somersaulted through the air, landing on top of the vehicle, just behind the turret. Before the others could try to pick her off, she opened the lid of the turret and grabbed the soldier, yanking him out, and throwing him behind her.

Without hesitation, she jumped into the vehicle, propelling herself forward into the empty main compartment, and climbing into the driver's seat. She checked the ignition and... _yes_.

Thanking people for their laziness, she turned the key and started up the tank-truck. She hadn’t driven in a while, but after accidentally accelerating too hard and causing it to jerk awkwardly, she got the hang of the controls and started pulling it to over to draw even with the armoured bunker, covering the line of sight with the body of the vehicle. She stopped the car, flicking up the handbrake and grinning to herself.

When the top cover of the bunker opened so the soldiers could get out and start fighting, LaF dropped a canister of knockout gas and instead of infuriated soldiers, the only thing that rose out of the bunker was a wisp of smoke.

Laura quickly slipped out the driver’s side door and sprinted towards the middle car, pumping her arms and legs determinedly. Once she was within range, she dropped down into a slide to get _under_ the car, grabbed a grenade from her belt, and shoved it up into the engine.

That left the last car.

She rolled out from under the car, sprinting towards the last car as the soldier inside the car she’d just grenaded panicked and bailed out of the car just before it exploded.

Laura looked back over as LaFontaine picked them up, dumping them with the other soldier they’d knocked out.

Now...

Laura shielded herself from the last turret’s gunfire as she propelling herself forward into a spin through the air, shield first, _through_ the window and _into_ the car’s front seat. The soldier still manning the turret stared down at her with wide eyes.

She offered him a toothy grin and shrug, before flinging the shield at his face and knocking him out.

Laura hoisted herself out of the car and was brushing her shoulders free of rounded fragments of glass when the other two reached her, and Carmilla accusingly pointed out, “You bogarted all the fun.”

Laura pulled her left glove taut by the cuff, stretching out her fingers. “Next time I’ll share.”

“There’s plenty to go around.” LaFontaine stared at the direction they were heading. “I’m picking up at least ten heat signatures behind that door.

Danny stepped forward to the side of the door to take cover there, the grip on her gun tightening. “Let’s go.”

Carmilla and Laura went to the other side, as LaFontaine got JP to hack the system and open the door. They were greeted with a fresh round of gunfire and Danny glanced around the corner.

“Twelve in total, two clusters, left and right,” Danny reported into the comms. “I suggest LaFontaine flies behind the line and then we flank them.”

“Can you manage that?” Laura asked LaFontaine.

LaF flashed a thumbs up. “Or you get your money back.” They took off into the room, dodging around the bursts of fire, and as the soldiers turned to focus on them, Danny, Laura and Carmilla appeared around the corner and attacked from either side.

Danny was quick to nail each of her targets, with shots to the legs or shoulders, before moving in to immobilize them completely using the butt of her gun or her elbow. Laura waded in before Carmilla, using her shield to keep them both safe, as she charged the closest soldier, knocking him off his feet and into the soldier behind him. She then smacked the soldier to her left with the shield, making him crumple to the floor.

Carmilla slipped out from behind Laura, sliding in between the other soldiers so quickly that they didn’t even have time to fire their guns. The closest someone got was aiming, but a fraction of a second later her hand was on the gun barrel and she was twisting it away from his shoulder, using the stock to hit him across the face. At the same time, her boot lashed out and collided with another’s jaw in a firm kick, before sweeping around to hit yet another soldier in the back of the hand, causing him to drop his gun reflexively. She rushed him, thrusting the heel of her palm into his Adam’s apple, before using his body as a weapon against the last standing soldier.

When all the soldiers in the room were dropped and in various states of injury, LaFontaine stood at the other end of the room, staring at the damage that they’d wreaked. “I’m so not getting on any of your bad sides.”

Laura was the only one to smile in response, as the other two just glowered at the scientist.

They coughed at the somewhat lacklustre response and got to work on the next door control. The security caved to LaF’s software as each dead bolt started to slide back from the door, and they commented dryly, “You know, from your whole speech I was expecting this to be more difficult.”

“LaF-” Laura started, knowing Carmilla’s history with Coronis.

“No, they’re right.” Carmilla frowned. “This is way too easy.” Laura was ready to argue her definition of easy when Carmilla continued, “Coronis isn’t dumb lackeys.” To punctuate her point, she flipped the soldier that had stumbled to his feet to grab her from behind and hit him in the throat. “It’s...”

The door slid open to reveal a huge circular room with a cylinder at least twenty feet wide, which extended above and below their line of sight. That wasn’t what made everyone freeze though - it was what was in the tube. Hovering in the familiar blue liquid, was a huge... _thing_.

It wasn’t human, although it had two legs, two arms and a head. It was green, but a darker green than the Sergeant turned into. And much, much larger. With muscles over muscles over muscles, it was terrifying. And that wasn’t even counting the reptilian skin, and spined, webbed ears that looked like something out of a black and white horror film. It had a heavy overhanging brow, which curved down into its tiny button nose with slitted nostrils. They pulsed open and shut steadily as it floated there, hundreds of tubes plugged into to its skin.

“...bigger scale,” Carmilla finally finished as they all stood in front of the door, staring at the creature that was ten feet tall, easily towering over all of them.

“So who votes we don’t wake up the creature from the Black Lagoon?” LaFontaine asked, raising their hand.

Laura followed suit, without being able to take her eyes off the thing in the tube. She stepped forward, forcing her eyes away from the creature, to the tube itself. “Do you think this is the same as what we found in Nevada?”

LaFontaine started to scan the tube as they moved closer to it and talked to JP quietly. Ten seconds later they turned back to the rest of them. “Initial scans match up.”

“So they were trying to grow...” Laura trailed off, not knowing how to describe the sight in front of them.

“Better versions of me,” Danny finally spoke.

“I don’t know if ‘better’ is the word I’d use.” LaFontaine considered it. “Fish-ier maybe.”

“Xena’s right,” Carmilla said as she went over to the closest terminal, examining the chassis. She set to work unscrewing the metal covering to dig around in the hardware and continued, “This is what they wanted. A monster.”

Carmilla ripped out a thin, silvery metal panel from the console and threw it over to LaFontaine. “Scan that.”

“What for?”

“How to kill it without waking it up.” Carmilla stalked off, following the edge of the tube around in search of any more intel.

“Wait a minute, Carm!” Laura called out, jogging to catch up with the agent’s stride.

They were out of sight from the others by the time Laura fell in step with her.

“If you’re going to give me another lecture on morality, skip it.” Carmilla went over to the huge computer by the back wall, and pulled a USB out of her belt, plugging it into a port.

“I just- don’t you think that you’re getting a little ahead of yourself? Maybe we should find more out before we start executing people.”

“ _This_ -” Carmilla gestured to the tube “-isn’t a person. _This_ is a monster that would probably take us all out without blinking. I know you’re all champion of justice, but news flash, Cap, they don’t make handcuffs in monster size.”

“I _know_ ,” Laura’s voice strained with emotion. “But we don’t know who they were. All those other people we found in tubes...”

“Were still people. Whoever this person _was_ , they’re not them anymore. We’re too late.” Carmilla turned to face Laura, and her eyes were soft. “I’m sorry.”

Before Laura could respond, a quiet laugh echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls. It was light, almost melodious, but in the context of the enemy compound it was eerily ominous. Laura tensed, but it was nothing compared to the way that Carmilla seized up. She swept the USB stick from the console, and put it back into her belt in a sharp, quick movement that Laura knew meant that they would be running.

Laura wasn’t sure why a laugh - no matter how ominous - would elicit such a flight response from the agent, until a soft voice drifted down from the shadows above, “Mistress told me you’d gone soft, but I thought she was being dramatic.”

Laura recognised the same accent as Carmilla’s - a slightly off-brand American, with a twist of something impossible to pick - but instead of drawling the voice was light, young, innocent almost.

A figure somersaulted down from a shadowy corner of the ceiling, tumbling over and over through the air until they landed on the railing bordering the tube with a stunning amount of grace. They straightened up, and Laura stared at the woman in front of them.

She still had the softness of youth in her face, baby fat stubbornly clinging to her cheeks. Her eyes though, there was nothing young there, just a sinister coldness. She was beautiful, and not in a subtle way. She looked like she’d come fresh from a photo shoot, with olive skin, dark curly hair and shockingly light green eyes. Where Carmilla was guarded and carefully put together, there was something wild about this girl, something dangerous.

“Hello sister.”

 _Sister?_ Laura stared between the two of them. From what Carmilla had told her about her past, and the mention of the Mistress, and their different appearances, Laura was willing to bet that they weren’t blood related. Although, they were wearing really similar jumpsuits.

“Alamina,” Carmilla replied in a steady voice, completely empty of emotion.

The stranger, Alamina, stepped off the rail and walked towards Carmilla, completely ignoring Laura. She stopped a foot away from her, and they both stood there silently, sizing each other up. Then, Alamina threw her arms open. “I have missed you.”

Carmilla’s mouth pulled into a tight smile and she closed the space between them, embracing Alamina. “I wish you’d called ahead.” When she pulled away and Laura noticed that Carmilla had placed herself in between them.

“Now where would the fun be in that?” Alamina’s gaze travelled past Carmilla to eye Laura. “I must say, the company you’re keeping is disappointing, Calla.”

“Who-?” Laura started forward, but Carmilla held her hand up behind her back, causing Laura to still.

Alamina sighed. “Good thing I organised for them to be kept busy, so that we can catch up.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Carmilla spoke through gritted teeth.

Panic started to rise in Laura’s throat as nausea gripped her stomach. “LaFontaine and Danny,” she whispered at Carmilla.

As if on cue, the sounds of gunfire and missile blasts came from the other side of the room.

Alamina gave a lazy hand wave. “A minor distraction. Just a warm up for the main event.”

“Go,” Carmilla muttered under her breath. “Help them.”

“Are you sure?”

Laura watched Carmilla’s jaw tense as her eyes never left Alamina. “I’ll be fine.” Her head cocked slightly and a forced smile crooked her lips. “We’re just catching up.”

With one last look to Alamina, who looked at Laura as if she had already overstayed her welcome, Laura ran back to the other side of the room. Just before she rounded the corner, she glanced back to where Carmilla and Alamina were still standing, talking quietly, and she could spot Carmilla’s discomfort a mile off.

She prayed that she’d be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	25. Chapter 25

“Mircalla, Mircalla!” The small, olive-skinned child ran over, a closed fist held aloft. “I lost my tooth! Should I put it under the stove for the _mysh_?”

Mircalla’s hand whipped out, fast and hard, to strike the girl across the cheek. “English, Alamina.”

The six year old girl’s lip quivered as her brown eyes shone with tears, but none of them fell. She knew that this was nothing in comparison to the Mistress’ punishment. Instead, she nodded, her brow furrowed as she corrected herself, pronouncing the word with much effort, “Mou-se.”

“There is no mouse to give you gifts here,” Mircalla answered bluntly. “How do you know of him? You are a gypsy.”

“My mother-”

“Do not speak of your parents,” Mircalla cut her off sharply.

Alamina closed her mouth, her eyes growing wide. Mircalla’s eyes softened, just slightly, and she reached into the waistband of her underwear. Carefully, she brought out what she’d hidden there, and the packaging was instantly recognisable - making Alamina gasp in delight.

“ _Shokolad_ ,” she whispered in awe.

Mircalla raised an eyebrow.

“Cho-co-late,” she sounded out, labouring over each syllable. Her accent sat strangely in between Russian and American. She had only had a few months of class so far; by the end of the year she would no longer have the Russian accent. Either through her own absorption, or through their teacher’s force.

Satisfied by the younger girl’s effort, Mircalla broke off two squares of the chocolate and handed them to Alamina.

Alamina stared down at the chocolate, as if still not believing it was in her hands. They didn’t allow any sweets in the Red Room, certainly not the much beloved chocolate. “How did you-?”

“Don’t ask questions I won’t give you the answer to,” Mircalla answered harshly. Then, more gently, “Go on.”

Alamina looked around them quickly before shoving the whole portion in her mouth and making happy noises as she ate it. She bounced from side to side, her smile growing as she swallowed it. Mircalla watched her, face empty of expression. Her hands tightened around the chocolate for a moment, crinkling the packaging, before she let out a quiet sigh and handed the whole block over. Alamina stared at her wide-eyed, as if she had just given her a precious treasure, and Mircalla waved it off with a lie, “It is not my favourite.”

With a huge smile, Alamina set to work finishing the rest of the chocolate. “Have you seen Anna?” she asked with her mouth full.

Mircalla stiffened. She blinked hard and said through gritted teeth, “She had her first blood.”

“She...” Alamina forcefully swallowed her mouthful of food. “She graduated?”

“Did you see her at breakfast?” Mircalla asked.

Alamina shook her head.

“Then she did not succeed.”

Alamina let out a soft gasp, her hand going to her mouth. “But I-”

Mircalla stood. “I have duties.” She walked away from her but paused just before rounding the corner. With a glance over her shoulder she said softly, “Do not be caught with that, _Vatrushka_.”

Mircalla disappeared around the corner and Alamina smiled, small and sad, at the Russian dessert pastry she had used as a nickname.

\---

“It has been a long time, Calla.” Alamina took a step to the side with a relaxed air, but tension crackled through the air. Any pretension of comfort was a game; the question was when it would break.

Carmilla mirrored each step that Alamina took, keeping them at opposite ends of an invisible circle that they were both walking the border of.

“You know,” she said in a conversational, bright tone, “the Mistress used to love regaling us with tales of Black Widow, the most feared, ruthless spy. You were her glittering girl, her diamond.” Her head tilted, eyes darkly considering. “Imagine my confusion when they stopped.”

Carmilla continued to reflect Alamina’s moves, not saying anything, although her eyes narrowed.

Alamina tilted her head. “Did you know what happened to the Red Room?”

She barely waited for a response from Carmilla, not that she was going to get one, before going on, “I forgave you for leaving me there. I was weak. Undisciplined. But when you betrayed your clients for the Americans... They re _struc_ tured the program.”

“You survived,” Carmilla stated bluntly, although it was a question and they both knew it. Restructuring was not a kind process to what Coronis saw as ‘replaceable assets’.

“I proved myself as valuable.” Alamina tipped her chin up. “More valuable than the rest of them.”

A sliver of emotion entered Carmilla’s face as she sighed wearily. “I’m sorry.”

Alamina frowned. “What for?”

Carmilla struck.

\---

Laura barely managed to roll out of the way of the mini missile, and when it exploded behind her she felt the fire lick the back of her neck. “How’s finding that weak point going?” she called out to LaFontaine.

They’d turned their suit to stealth mode so they could hover next to the flying mini drone and try to spot a weakness in the armour. Trying to attack it only increased the power of its attacks, so they were just trying to avoid being hit while LaFontaine found a way to take it down. Except, it was also learning as time went on, and adapting to their tactics, so that each missile was getting uncomfortably closer.

“Just give me a...” LaFontaine’s preoccupied mutter trickled over the radio. A panel on the drone’s top cover opened, so a missile launcher could fold up and out of it, to the matching panic of Danny and Laura. LaFontaine struck, slamming their hand into the hole in the cover and sending a pulse into the drone’s innards.

The drone fell apart, the hardware splitting open and raining down in irregular chunks. LaF drifted slowly to the ground. “Piece of cake.”

Danny checked her hair for singe marks as she flicked her ponytail back over her shoulder irritatedly.

There was a loud clunk, shuddering the room. Then, nothing, which somehow felt more threatening than comforting. Laura stayed completely still as she tried to listen for another clue of what was happening. Then she heard it. Starting from deep in the belly of the building, a dull mechanical whirr that grew louder and louder until the ground was thrumming with it. They all looked around, trying to figure out what was going on, until Laura spotted it.

“Main event,” she whispered.

“What?” Danny asked.

Laura pointed up, to where the tube glass had disengaged from the ceiling and was starting to lower, the liquid spilling down the outside of the glass slowly into the drain between the floor they were standing on and the tube.

Laura swallowed as she watched the liquid drain. “LaFontaine?”

“Yeah?” LaF asked, their eyes not moving from the tube.

“Did you find a way to kill it?”

There was a long pause, and Laura finally broke her eyes from the tank in front of them to look over at LaFontaine. She was about to prompt them when they replied, “No.”

\---

Carmilla’s eyes snapped open.

She was in a small office. Desk made of cheap chipboard with a wood finish, wheeled office chair, two visitor chairs, and another chair by the door at the far wall. Row of filing cabinets along the walls, unlocked. As she got to her feet she scanned the desk. Paper clips, stapler, letter opener, computer, phone - it was a treasure trove of weapons.

Instead of a wall behind the desk there was a long window panel, but from this angle all she could see through it was a concrete wall several feet away. That wasn’t important. Why was she here, what was the last-?

Alamina. She dosed her, a needle to the neck. Carmilla’s hand went to the spot, and she felt the small mark. She hadn’t been out long though, judging from the lack of grogginess. She tested her movement and found everything acceptably responsive.

Next question - her eyes fell to the door - how to get out?

The door opened and Alamina walked in, a surprised smile growing on her face at the sight of Carmilla standing. “You always did very well with narcotics.”

“Where am I?”

Alamina gestured to the windowed wall. “Just a bird’s eye view. Didn’t want to be disturbed by the main event.”

 _Main event_ , that was the second time she’d said that. Carmilla remembered when the Mistress would talk like that, and it was never good. She moved closer to the window, careful not to turn her back to Alamina. She glanced down, they were indeed at the top of the room now, in an alcove just under the ceiling, and she saw tube glass slowly retracting. The creature’s head was now free, which meant they didn’t have much longer until it would be completely free from the liquid and woken up. She had to get down there.

Carmilla turned back to Alamina. “So you wanted to catch up, let’s catch up.”

Alamina’s smile grew as she used her foot to kick up one of the visitors’ chairs, sending it flying over the desk and towards Carmilla who managed to sidestep out of the way so that it collided into the window behind her and shattered it.

Carmilla rushed forward, grabbing the computer monitor and flinging it wildly towards Alamina before vaulting herself over the desk so even though Alamina deflected the monitor, Carmilla was _right there_ a moment later, with a punch aimed at her throat.

Alamina slid to the side, around the blow, and threw a knee up into Carmilla’s gut. Well, tried to. As her knee made contact with Carmilla’s stomach, Carmilla grunted and grabbed Alamina close, charging forward to slam her back against the filing cabinets. She pulled them back and then slammed again, which was enough for Alamina’s body to release for a second. Just enough time for Carmilla to throw a few hits into her ribs.

Alamina used her raised leg to shove Carmilla away, to get some distance from the agent to recover from the attack and try and regain the upper hand. Carmilla kept the space between them, waiting for Alamina to attack again - it didn’t take very long.

Alamina came at her hard and fast, her left shoulder dropping, and Carmilla guarded against the impending hit, pivoting slightly and dropping her other hand to counter the hit pre-emptively. Except, at the last moment, Alamina shifted her weight and sent a right hook directly at the unprotected side of Carmilla’s face. Carmilla stumbled, a flash of light bursting across half her vision.

Alamina took advantage of the half-second vulnerability to deliver a devastating roundhouse kick to Carmilla’s ribs, which threw her to the ground. Alamina kicked again while standing over her, this time to her stomach and it shoved all the air out of Carmilla’s gut. She sucked in a breath as Alamina kicked again, but this time Carmilla caught her leg and shoved it up as hard as she could, jarring it against her hip and throwing her off balance.

Carmilla took the opportunity to roll away, a hand on her gut as she struggled to catch her breath and stood. Alamina closed the space between them with the sole of her boot kicking hard into Carmilla’s midsection, sending her back into the filing cabinets and again stealing the breath from her lungs. The handle of the filing cabinet hit Carmilla in the ribs over her past injury, causing a new echo of the old pain.

Alamina charged her, and Carmilla ducked down, reaching behind her to yank the drawer open, so as her head was just clear of it, it flew open and hit Alamina square in the chest, sending her reeling back. Carmilla sidestepped, standing again and raising her fists, one at her neck and the other at her hip. It was a position she hadn’t taken in years, but around Alamina it came automatically.

Alamina shook off the blow to the chest, her teeth bared as she mirrored Carmilla’s stance. They walked the line of the circle, eyes on each other, until Alamina’s side was to the open drawer. Her eyes went from Carmilla, to the drawer, and back again.

 _Shit_.

Using two hands, Alamina pulled the drawer loose from the filing cabinet, and before Carmilla could disarm her, she swung it forward, making Carmilla jump back. Alamina took another step forward, swinging messily again.

The drawer was heavy, being hit with it wasn’t an option, but the heaviness also meant that the swings were slow. On the third swing, Carmilla timed it so that as the momentum of the drawer threw Alamina off her centre, she swept her legs out from under her and sent her to the ground.

Alamina was quick to recover, getting back to her feet and watching Carmilla warily as they walked the circumference of the invisible circle as they did before. Neither of them looked away from the other, but they both knew that they were searching the room.

\---

The sharp rap of a cane against the stones rang through the courtyard and Mircalla and Alamina stepped onto the circle, across from each other. Another rap and they bowed their heads to each other, before raising their fists into the first fighting position, one by their neck and the other by their waist.

Alamina’s right hand was hovering by her chest, not quite high enough. Mircalla’s eyes flicked to it pointedly and Alamina quickly fixed it. They started to move around the circle, keeping their hands in place and their eyes on one another.

Another rap.

They moved in, fists first.

\---

At the same time, Carmilla grabbed the letter opener off the desk, as Alamina picked up the chair. Carmilla’s eyes went from the letter opener, to the chair, and she shrugged. She lunged forward, aiming for Alamina’s arms, to try and injure her enough that she could go downstairs.

Alamina dodged the stab, instead moving the chair into the way so that Carmilla’s arm went through the gap between the cushion and the armrest loop.

 _Fuck_.

Alamina quickly twisted the chair, trapping Carmilla’s arm between the back cushion and the armrest, so that it pressed against the outside of her elbow and the inside of her forearm. The pain shot quickly through her arm, forcing her to drop the letter opener. Alamina flicked the bottom of the chair up, so that the legs hit her gut. Without pause, she charged the chair forward, forcing Carmilla onto her back on the desk. The corner of the chair back was pressing hard against Carmilla’s neck, cutting off her oxygen as Alamina leaned onto it, continuing to twist against her arm.

“You know...” Carmilla let out a pained wheeze. “You always forgot something.”

“What’s that?”

Carmilla grabbed a fountain pen from the desk and used her free hand to stab forward, burying it in Alamina’s jugular. Alamina stumbled back, hands at her neck, panicked look on her face.

Carmilla stood off the desk, her voice a rough croak as she said, “Protect your neck.”

\---

“You know I wouldn’t ask this if it wasn’t dire,” Laura said to Danny, who was staring at her fists. “And this is like the direst of the dire.”

Danny nodded slowly and then straightened up. “Okay.”

“Don’t hulk out yet, Cujo.”

They both looked up to where Carmilla was rounding the corner looking worse for wear. Relief swept Laura’s face, and even if Danny would never admit it, she felt it too.

Carmilla leaned against the railing, and gestured towards LaFontaine who was busy in front of the console. “Tin Can.” She pulled the USB out of her pocket and held it out. “Codes that’ll reverse the process.”

“How did you-? The security system would have taken _me_ three hours to crack.”

“I know people.” Carmilla threw the USB at them and they caught it, opening a port on their suit and plugging it in, before rushing back over to the console and hooking themselves back into the system. The tube stopped moving down, paused, and then started to travel back up to the ceiling as the liquid level rose again.

With that sorted, Laura moved closer to Carmilla. “Are you okay?” she asked under her breath.

Carmilla’s expression was weary as she nodded.

Laura didn’t have to ask where Alamina was to know what Carmilla had done.

“Uh, hey, Agent Karnstein?”

Carmilla’s eyes left Laura’s face grudgingly to go to the scientist.

LaFontaine continued, “You didn’t see what else is on this USB did you?”

“I didn’t get a chance,” Carmilla replied sarcastically.

Ignoring Carmilla’s reaction, Laura asked, “What is it, LaFontaine?”

“I believe they’re talking about the dam,” the answer came from around the corner.

Each click of the heel against the floor felt like a nail being hammered into their coffin.

Carmilla pulled the exhaustion off her body, replacing it with a layer of adrenaline, kicked up by the familiar buzz of fear. Instead of letting the fear seize her body like it wanted to, she focused it, using it to heighten her senses rather than cloud them.

She turned just as the Mistress came into view wearing a navy pantsuit, with her hair pulled into a tight, perfect bun and a black eye patch over the eye Carmilla had injured. “Mistress.”

“I am very disappointed. Alamina was a dear asset, and you took her from me.” Her voice dropped with the threat. “I don’t appreciate when my things are taken from me.”

Surprisingly, Danny was the one to react first. She stepped forward, in line with Carmilla and demanded, “What about the dam?”

The Mistress sniffed, as if Danny was a bad smell, before replying, “Did none of you question why we acquired a dam? Did it never cross your close-minded little heads?” Her gaze fell on Carmilla. “This is quite disappointing.”

“They were going to use it to release a serum,” LaFontaine said.

The Mistress’ mouth twitched slightly at LaFontaine’s interruption and she coldly corrected them, “When it was done being developed. But the explosion interrupted that process and spilled the _un_ finished product at an uncontrolled rate into the water supply.”

That news hit them all in different ways, in different parts of their body. Laura felt a sudden seizing of her chest; Danny’s muscles suddenly felt limp and useless; Carmilla’s spine prickled; and LaFontaine’s stomach dropped sickeningly.

The Mistress continued, unaware of their reactions, or simply not caring, as she sneered. “It wasn’t meant to change anyone, it was meant to test them. Those suitable for super serum wouldn’t be affected, those who weren’t... Well.” Her lips curled into a dangerous smirk. “But what _you_ released, created this.” She looked up at the tube pointedly.

“No, I- I didn’t-”

“Please, have your crisis of conscience at another time.” Her attention fell to Carmilla. “We have business to discuss.” She turned on her heel and started to walk away. Carmilla started to follow and Laura caught her hand in hers.

“Carm...”

Carmilla put her other hand on top of Laura’s, squeezing it gently. The meaning behind her eyes was so strong that Laura felt her breath catch. Then Carmilla let their hands drop and followed the Mistress.

Laura, Danny and LaFontaine all watched her go silently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	26. Chapter 26

The Mistress stepped over the body of Alamina, her heel pressing into the dark stain across the carpet as she walked towards the desk and sat, leaning against the edge of it.

Carmilla was careful to step around, keeping her movements as natural as possible while avoiding the stained carpet. Her avoidance didn’t go unnoticed however, as the Mistress sneered with a curl of disgust. Carmilla could practically feel her judgement of ‘weak’ ringing against her cheek as a slap.

“I don’t want to fight,” the Mistress said, and the boredom on her face made Carmilla consider believing her. “I want to talk.”

Carmilla stood in front of Alamina, between her and the Mistress, and couldn’t help but remember the last time she had stood in this position.

\---

“I won’t.”

Alamina was curled up on the ground, crying as snot and blood dripped from her face to the courtyard stones. In front of her, Mircalla stood with her hands balled into fists and her chin raised. Her eyes were alight with fire, determined and ready for the response from the Mistress.

It came, as sharp as it always did, with the cane across her cheek. Mircalla took the hit, and then raised her face back to the Mistress. “She is a child.”

“None of you are children,” the Mistress replied coldly.

“She has only been here a few months. Let me teach her. She shows promise, that is why you chose her so late into her life.”

The Mistress raised the cane again, but Mircalla didn’t even blink. The Mistress stopped, considering it, and then slowly lowered it. “Very well. You shall teach her. And if she fails, it shall be you who are punished.”

Mircalla bowed down low, exposing the back of her neck to the Mistress. The Mistress’ shoes clacked against the stones as she walked away.

Alamina crawled behind her, sniffling as she reached for Mircalla’s hand. Mircalla yanked her hand away, shooting Alamina a disgusted look. At the younger girl’s hurt, something in her eyes melted a fraction and she knelt by her. Using her shirt, she gently wiped her face clean.

“You must train with me,” she said, dabbing at the blood at the corner of her mouth. “Yes?”

Alamina’s lip quivered as she nodded and noisily sniffed. “Yes.”

Satisfied, Mircalla pulled her lips into a tight line and sighed. “Go join the cleaning shift in the kitchen.”

“Yes, Calla.” Alamina scrambled to her feet and took off in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Mircalla alone in the courtyard.

\---

“Are you going to tell me how disappointed you are in me?” Carmilla asked, because sarcasm was the only thing she felt like she could hold onto right now. With the Mistress in front of her, and Alamina behind her (Alamina’s body, not Alamina, because Alamina was gone), her mind was a mess and sarcasm was something stable she could hold onto.

The Mistress ignored Carmilla’s sarcasm entirely. “I’m not pleased with the direction Coronis is taking.”

Carmilla raised an eyebrow but she stayed silent.

The Mistress brushed a piece of lint off her sleeve; her fingertips precise even in that small movement. “Despite what you might think, I do not do evil for evil’s sake. I work for money, not world domination. And if this goes through I may find myself unemployed. Or worse, the charge of mindless monsters.”

“What do you mean?”

The Mistress eyed her impatiently. “Do I have to spell it out for you, dear?” She waved her hand towards the room, the monster in the tube. “They want to repeat _this_. On a larger scale. And then they want to hold the world ransom.”

\---

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Laura asked Danny and LaFontaine as she paced back and forth.

“Nothing good.” Danny turned to LaF. “Is there anything else on the USB?”

“There are... results.”

“Results?”

“The dam, it...” LaFontaine paused, the silence heavy between them. “Those affected by the spill. 75% fatality, 20% brain dead, 4.9% recoverable, 0.1% transformed.”

Danny and Laura both stared at the scientist as the numbers sunk in. If they’d only seen one transformed person so far then...

_75% dead. 20% brain dead._

Laura stepped forward. “LaF...”

They turned away from her, going back to the console to start punching buttons. “I’ll try and find out more about what they’re doing here.”

No one mentioned that LaFontaine didn’t need to be pressing the buttons to control the console while wearing their suit.

\---

“That’s why you led us here,” Carmilla said, realising that they hadn’t tracked her. She had guided them here. As always, Carmilla had been one step behind.

“Of course. How careless did you think I’d grown? ‘Don’t let yourself be found-’”

“‘-unless you want to be’,” Carmilla finished the rule that had been drilled into their minds at the Red Room. One of many.

The Mistress tilted her head slightly before continuing, “In the lowest level of this compound is the same unfinished serum that was spilled from the dam.” She walked towards the window and Carmilla followed her, around the other side of the desk, keeping even with her. The Mistress scowled at the creature in front of them. “As if this is something to be proud of.” With a disgusted scoff she turned to Carmilla. “In three days time, the serum is to be transported to one of our facilities and inserted into the water supply of a town with the population of 30,000 people. “

“So what do you suggest we do?”

“We? Oh no, my dear, I am not playing a part in this. Agree or disagree, I do not turn on my employer. That’s simply bad business. I suggest you use your well-crafted charms to get that rag-tag group of do-gooders to deal with it. It shouldn’t be too hard to convince them to ‘save the day’.”

“And let you go?”

“Everything has a price. Do you value my life or the lives of thousands, possibly millions?”

Carmilla stepped forward, hackles raised. “Who said it had to be a choice?”

The Mistress regarded her with a bored expression. “Must it be this way?”

“You only taught me one way to be.”

“Well I can’t disagree with that...”

Carmilla charged, but with a smooth step, the Mistress dodged and her hand whipped out to grab Carmilla by the hair, wrapping it around her hand so that when she pulled Carmilla couldn’t help how her head followed.

“And that is why you wear a bun.”

Carmilla threw a blow over her shoulder but the Mistress just caught it and twisted her arm behind her back, giving her more leverage over Carmilla. She dragged her towards the open edge of the shattered window. Carmilla dug her feet into the ground, but it was no match for the Mistress’ force.

They stood at the edge, and the Mistress leaned in. “I’m sorry it came to this. I do hate devolving into a stereotype, but I really must run. Goodbye, Agent Karnstein.”

Then she shoved her.

\---

Laura couldn’t stand this anymore, each minute that passed with Carmilla still gone itched at her, until finally she walked towards the way they’d disappeared. Not to interrupt, but just to be there, to do something, to be closer, as if that would help somehow. (Okay, so even Laura didn’t really believe that, but _whatever_.)

As she rounded the corner she saw a figure fall from a window far above, and her heart stopped. The dark, loose hair, the jumpsuit-

 _Carmilla_.

Laura had focused before, had run and fought and all the rest since the serum, but she’d never been like this. It felt like the world was on fire around her, the flames licking at her skin and muscles and bones, except none of that mattered. Nothing mattered except for the falling agent and the distance that she still had to close between them.

Carmilla’s name repeated as a chant in her mind, over and over with each step, with each breath, until she saw Carmilla pulling something out of her belt and shooting her grappling hook. It caught on the edge of the windowsill above, and yanked her out of the fall. She flipped in the air, retracted the grappling hook, and landed on the floor with both feet.

Laura stared at the agent, adrenaline still woven tight through her muscles and her heartbeat thudding in her bones.

“You-”

Carmilla took a slow step towards her, her eyes concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Am I-?” Laura gestured vaguely in front of her. “You just- and you’re asking...?”

Carmilla watched Laura carefully, as if Laura was the one who had just fallen from a window twenty feet up. “You seem not okay.”

“Who cares about...” Laura cut herself off with a sharp outtake of breath. “Are _you_ okay?”

Carmilla shrugged. “That’s not the worst way she’s said goodbye.” At her casual response, something broke in Laura’s face and Carmilla reached out for her, stopping just before she made contact. “Hey, you really don’t look okay.”

“I thought you were going to die,” Laura whispered. “I thought... And LaFontaine...”

Carmilla’s eyes flicked behind Laura for a moment before she gently took Laura’s hands in hers. “What’s wrong?”

Laura’s breath caught in her throat and for a moment she wished she didn’t have to be the person to say it - as if repeating it would turn the words to poison on her tongue. “The dam spill. 75% dead, 20% brain dead,” she echoed the facts, and it wasn’t any less painful hearing them out loud the second time. It wasn’t her burden to bear, but she couldn’t help shouldering part of it.

Something in Carmilla’s face shifted, and for a moment Laura felt uncomfortable being so close to her. It was just a flash, a moment of hardness that wasn’t directed at Laura, but which Laura felt the brunt of. Laura’s flinch brought Carmilla back, and her apology was clear in her eyes, even though it wasn’t spoken. She squeezed Laura’s hands, but what she said next made Laura’s stomach drop.

“I know what we have to do.”

The words that should have inspired relief were twisted by something in Carmilla’s eyes. As Carmilla went to find the other two, Laura couldn’t help but wonder what the Mistress had told her and why it had left such a bitter taste in Laura’s mouth.

By the time Laura joined the rest of them, they were already arguing.

“How do you know we can trust her?” Danny asked, her words and body language full of disgust. Clearly the Sergeant’s feeling of betrayal by the traitorous Mistress hadn’t eased.

“This isn’t a leap of faith,” Carmilla replied evenly. “We go down there, see it, get rid of it.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?”

“Can’t we just... blow it up? Boom, no more serum, right?” Laura suggested. She glanced at LaF and quickly added, “After evacuating everyone.”

It was impossible to see the emotion play across the scientist’s face through their faceplate, but there was something in the way that they shook their head, slowly and deliberately. It felt muted, so different from their usual. “If we blow it up it’ll seep into the dirt and who knows what will happen to the soil composition and the wildlife. And if there’s any farming land around here, it gets into the food supply, and then…”

Carmilla nodded. “We need to neutralise it.” She glanced at LaFontaine. “Think you can manage it, Frankenstein?”

“Yeah,” they replied quietly, “I’ll figure something out.”

Something close to pity flashed across Carmilla’s face, and she nodded again.

“I still don’t think-”

“We’ll stay here,” Laura interrupted Danny before she could voice her concerns again. She agreed with her, but the other two didn’t need to hear it right now. They both seemed so... absent. Laura ached to go with Carmilla, to offer anything to try and help, but she knew that the best she could do right now was let them fix it.

Danny didn’t look thrilled at having been cut off, but she agreed with Laura.

LaFontaine didn’t say anything, but they started towards the stairs, which Laura took as agreement. Carmilla watched them go and hesitated, her eyes lingering on Laura.

Laura just smiled - as much as she could smile with the growing uneasiness in her stomach - and nodded. “Go. Be a hero.”

Carmilla’s lips quirked wryly and she saluted Laura before following LaFontaine.

From behind her, Danny asked, “What if it’s a trap?”

Laura’s hand tightened to a fist, straining against the leather glove. “Then whoever’s setting it is about to regret it.”

From the shadows, the Mistress smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	27. Chapter 27

The lower they went into the compound, the hotter it got, a reminder of how much dirt was between them and the sky. At least they hadn’t skimped on the building material here like they had in the bunker; the walls were covered in thick, riveted steel panels that let Carmilla pretend like they weren’t under tonnes of soil.

What was wrong with buildings above the ground? Coronis took the whole covert underground black market thing way too literally.

LaFontaine had been quiet so far, their guilt pouring off them almost tangibly as they pretended to be focused on what they were doing.

Carmilla sighed. “Wait up, Tin Can.”

LaFontaine paused on the step but didn’t look back at her. “What?”

Carmilla knew how cliché the next words would sound, and it almost stopped her from saying them, but she had to say something. “It’s not your fault.”

“I developed the serum. I blew up the dam. How is it not my fault?”

Taking a second to pray that someone else would somehow materialise next to her and take the responsibility of the pep talk away from her - long shot, but Perry _had_ been known to hide in car boots - Carmilla stepped down so they were on the same step. LaFontaine still didn’t look at her, instead choosing to stare at the concrete floor.

“They _made_ you develop it. And...” Carmilla went to put a hand on LaF’s shoulder but then shook her head and dropped her hand before it reached them. “You didn’t know. They threatened your, your-” Carmilla paused, realising for the first time that she had no idea what LaF and Perry were to each other.

“Perry,” LaFontaine finished for her, not clearing it up at all.

“Right. Your Perry.” Finally, she put a hand on LaF’s shoulder, swallowing her distaste for the saccharine feeling of the motion. “You wanted to keep her safe.”

“I wanted revenge,” they corrected, their voice hoarse through the robotic filter.

“I get that,” Carmilla admitted, “if Laura-”

LaFontaine’s head finally tilted towards Carmilla, the raised eyebrow clear in their body language. Carmilla cleared her throat, changing the subject roughly, “Anyway, let’s just do this alright?”

“Alright, crushes on super soldiers.”

Carmilla scowled as she continued down the stairs. When LaFontaine didn’t follow she paused and turned back to them expectantly.

“Tell me you hit her at least.”

Carmilla frowned in confusion. “Who?”

“The Major, or Mistress, or whatever her name is.” Their fists were clenched by their sides. “I know she gave us important information, and I trust that you know what you’re doing, but please, _please_ , tell me you hit her.”

“She was the one who threatened Perry,” Carmilla realised.

“She was the one who threatened Perry,” LaF confirmed. “Amongst other things.”

Carmilla didn’t have to ask what the other things were. She considered LaFontaine for a moment. “Tell you what, we do this, and then we’ll track her down, and I’ll hold her while you punch her in the face.”

LaF couldn’t help but bark a laugh at that mental image, and the ridiculousness of the suggestion. With some of the tension lifted from their shoulders, they started walking down again with a joking, “I’m holding you to that.”

Carmilla chuckled quietly as they descended to the basement together.

\---

“You’re pacing.”

Laura paused, she hadn’t even been aware of it, but judging by the Sergeant’s mildly annoyed expression, Danny had been very aware of it. Laura grimaced. “Sorry.”

“You didn’t need to stay,” Danny said, knowing that Laura’s mind was with the other two.

“Is it obvious?”

Danny shrugged. “It’s not subtle.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Laura admitted.

“Me neither.”

There was a mechanical clunk next to them, and they both started, turning to the tube where the liquid had started to drain, although this time the glass stayed in place. They both shared a look before rushing over to the console, staring at the buttons without knowing what any of them did. The screen read:

_Subject Revival Commenced  
Progress: 2%_

“What the hell?” Danny muttered. She started to press the buttons, desperate to stop the process, but it had no effect on the progress ticking up at a steady rate.

The hair on the back of Laura’s neck stood on end and she reached for her shield, although it wouldn’t do anything to help them stop the computer.

Their instincts were proven right a moment later when the Mistress’ voice came from behind them. “It is unfortunate that Carmilla didn’t take you down to the storage tank with her. I wanted to do this quietly.”

Laura grip tightened on the shield and she felt Danny tense next to her before they turned as one to face the Mistress.

“Sergeant Lawrence. Miss Hollis.”

Before Laura could say anything Danny was stepping forward with her jaw squared. “She goes by Captain now.”

It was the first time Danny had called her that, and Laura wasn't sure if it was out of her hatred of the Mistress or respect for Laura, but it was enough to bolster her confidence.

At least, until the Mistress spoke.

“Captain,” the Mistress echoed quietly, and hummed a laugh. Her eyes landed on Laura, and Laura had to steel herself to keep from flinching. “Does a false rank comfort you about your inexperience? Sergeant Lawrence has years, Carmilla decades. What do you have? Two weeks? Three?”

Laura didn’t say anything to that, couldn’t say anything. The heated retort that she wanted to make never formed itself in her mind, so all she had was emotion but no words for it. The Mistress had hit her insecurity so squarely that she could do little more than glare at her.

“She doesn’t need experience to stop you,” Danny replied for her and Laura was both grateful and jealous for not having been the person to say it.

The Mistress smiled patronisingly. “How American. All of the bravado, with none of the work.”

This time Laura was the one to step forward, drawing even with Danny. “We’re going to stop you.” It wasn’t witty, or impressive, and she sounded like a superhero from the 40s, but it was something at least.

“Even if you could...” The Mistress looked behind them pointedly. “How do you propose on stopping that?”

They turned back to the capsule. The liquid was now only up to its knees, and the screen read _75% complete_. Its hand twitched, the fingers moving ever so slightly before they curled over into a fist.

Danny seemed frozen by the image of the creature starting to stir - _85% complete_ \- but it kicked Laura into gear as she whirled back to the Mistress with her eyes flashing. “Turn it off.”

The Mistress tilted her head. “Or you’ll what?”

Laura felt her muscles start to ignite, tensing as she stared at the woman who had stolen Carmilla’s childhood, who had imprisoned LaFontaine, who had betrayed Danny. She moved into a fighting stance, her shield strapped to her left arm, and her right hand a tight fist.

The amusement dropped from the Mistress’ face, replaced by a lazy irritation. “All I want is to take the monster and sell him to the highest bidder. It would do you well to let me.”

“There’s no way I’m letting you leave with it,” Laura said in a stern voice. “Actually, there’s no way I’m letting you leave.”

By her side, there was a loud roar and Laura looked over to see Danny had been replaced by the huge, green hulked out version of the Sergeant. The Sergeant looked down at her, and as their eyes connected, Laura nodded and they both charged their opponents.

\---

The walls shook slightly and Carmilla glanced up at the ceiling curiously as LaFontaine continued to program the nanobots they’d just emptied into the huge storage tank full of the green serum. The basement of the compound was a circular room, the same size as the room they’d come from, with a low-ceilinged walkway bordering the edge of it. The serum vat took up most of the room, with thick glass cover that was level with the walkway and had control console and hatch at its centre.

“They’ll neutralise it?”

LaFontaine nodded. “I’m programming them to change the serum at a cellular level. It’ll take ten minutes or so.”

“Efficient.” Carmilla hadn’t taken her eyes off the ceiling yet.

LaFontaine made a vague noise as they continued to work, talking quickly with Jarvis.

\---

While fighting with Carmilla had been like trying to grab at smoke, fighting with the Mistress was like trying to snatch a fly out of the air. With chopsticks. In a pitch-black room. And the fly was also mocking you.

Laura quickly discovered that throwing the shield was of no use, and that keeping it on her was much more useful to deflect the heavy blows when the Mistress dealt them. She did so lackadaisically, and it raised Laura’s impatience at the feeling she was being toyed with. With her frustration growing, her hits were getting sloppier, letting her emotion control her efforts rather than her training.

 _Control over power_ , Carmilla’s voice entered her mind as one of her punches went wild and completely missed. All the strength she had didn’t mean anything if she didn’t land a hit.

She pulled back, and the Mistress let her, as she tried to regather herself and focus.

“I expected more from the super soldier. Even one with your inexperience.”

The Mistress was taunting her, trying to tease out emotion that would make her lose focus. Laura held onto that knowledge, onto the stubbornness that used to frustrate Carmilla in their training sessions. And as she thought of Carmilla and their training, an idea formed.

“But you know exactly what to expect from me.”

For the first time, the Mistress looked confused. “What?”

“Come on,” Laura said in a knowing voice, “don’t pretend like you didn’t watch all those training videos. You tracked exactly what I was doing every second I was at Fort Themyscira. You must have been so furious when LaFontaine blew up the hospital and all of my samples. And then you finally got to get my blood again in Nevada, and you were foiled like some, some...” Laura searched for the comparison and then smirked as she found it. “Bad comic book villain.”

The Mistress made a sharp exclamation of anger and lashed out at Laura. Laura dodged to the side, the Mistress’ fist only just clipping her jaw so it barely registered as a hit. She saw the Mistress’ eyes widen slightly as she swung her right fist in an uppercut that landed solidly on her jaw and threw her backwards through the air.

It was odd seeing the Mistress fly through the air, cycling her arms and legs as she tried to regain her balance, but after she hit the wall with a dull thump, she still managed to land on her feet. Her head snapped up and there was murder in her eyes. Laura swallowed.

On the other side of the room, the Sergeant slammed into the concrete wall, sending a spider web of cracks through it. The creature let loose a roar that shook the dust from the new cracks, as it walked towards her, its steps deliberate.

Danny got to her feet quickly, eyeing the creature that was much larger than her. Her arms were open, her hands hanging with the palms facing up and the fingers crooked, ready to grab at the creature opposite her. A growl started low in her throat, clawing its way up until it reached her mouth and she let it loose. The creature stared at her, its eyes glowing a bright yellow, and it blinked. Then it roared in return, so loud that the room shook, and started to run towards her.

The Sergeant waited for it, her shoulders heaving with each breath as she forced herself to focus, to stay, to do this. When it was only one more bounding step from her, she threw herself down at its feet, tripping it and sending it flying forward through the air awkwardly until it collided head first with the wall behind her.

She turned around, fist swinging towards the back of its head, and the hit slammed its head back into the wall again. She punched again. And again. And again.

After the fifth punch she realised that it hadn’t moved, and she stopped, panting over the body of the creature. For a second, stillness. And then, it exploded alive, throwing itself back onto its feet suddenly and taking her by surprise.

The force of the creature throwing her off was enough to hurl her clear across the room, through the remaining glass of the tube it had broken out of. As the creature stood it roared even louder than the first time, so loud that it rang in Danny’s ears, but she ignored it as she started towards the creature again, her fists balled into weapons.

Laura stared at the dent in the wall the Sergeant had left, and quickly rolled out of the way of the Mistress’ downward kick that slammed down on the ground, missing Laura by a hair’s breadth. Unfortunately, it also put her up against the corner without anywhere to go and Laura realised that the Mistress had herded her this way.

The Mistress spun through the air, and Laura held up the shield to protect herself from the incoming kick. The shield stopped the blow easily, and the recoil stunned the Mistress, giving Laura enough time to get to her feet and out of the corner.

She and the Mistress regarded each other, both of them with bruises already forming and blood speckled across their skin and clothes.

“Why do you fight?” the Mistress asked, and it sounded like a genuine question. Gone was the judgemental teasing, replaced by what felt like an actual curiosity.

Being talked to like she was on the same level threw Laura, but she recovered quickly. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You don’t have orders, you aren’t being paid, you could walk away from all this without a second thought,” she listed off. “You could die here, very easily, and yet here you are.”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Laura said, unflinching in her conviction.

The Mistress considered her for a long moment before sighing softly. “I suppose I’ll never understand.”

For a moment, Laura felt sympathy creep into her body, mixed in with confusion, and in that moment, the Mistress threw a knife from behind her back and it buried itself in Laura’s right thigh just above her knee. She cried out in pain as she dropped to the floor, her uninjured leg bent while the injured one stuck out straight to try and not move the knife. Her hands gripped around the knife, her uniform already going slick with blood from the wound.

The Mistress walked over to her with a slow deliberation. “I do hope you consider your death worth it, Laura Hollis,” she said, and she sounded like she meant it. She pulled another knife from behind her back, and her hand swept forward suddenly, to cut Laura’s throat, but Laura’s left hand shot out across her body caught it by the wrist and held it there. Under normal circumstances, Laura would have comfortably won the struggle, but with a knife in her thigh, and the Mistress having a standing advantage, it was a whole lot less comfortable. They both shook with the struggle of trying to get the upper hand; Laura’s forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and the Mistress’ lip twitching.

Laura continued to hold her wrist as she forced herself to her feet, only slightly wavering as she put her weight on her injured leg. She looked the Mistress dead in the eyes as she swung with her right arm, punching her across the face with her full strength.

The Mistress went limp and Laura let her drop to the ground.

Laura stared down at the knife still embedded in her leg and with a quick inhale, she grabbed it and pulled it out. Applying pressure to the wound, she took the MedFoam from her belt and applied it liberally to the wound. As it left the canister it attached to her skin and expanded, covering the wound and stopping the bleeding. It wasn’t perfect but it would do until they got out of here.

She looked over at where the creature had the Sergeant pinned to the ground, and grabbed the shield off her arm, throwing it at the creature’s back. The shield made a loud thump as it hit it square on the back, before bouncing back to Laura. The creature paused in thumping the Sergeant’s head on the ground and raised its head, looking around curiously as it tried to figure out where the blow had come from. Laura spotted the red blinking light on the back of its neck, at the base of its skull. She frowned - what was that?

The distraction was enough for Danny to throw the creature over the top of her with a kick to its chest, yanking it by its shoulders so it landed on its back on top of the jagged glass still left at the bottom of the tank. Laura grimaced, but the creature didn’t even seem to notice, just waded back into battle with a long shard of glass sticking out of its shoulder.

Laura’s eyes found the red blinking light again - could that be...? There had to be a reason that they’d kept the creature, a reason that the Mistress let it free, she didn’t seem like the monster wrangling type.

Could that be a way to control it? Something that was forcing it to fight Danny?

The Sergeant and the creature were circling each other, taking swipes and dealing blows that looked like they could take buildings down. And, judging by the way the building around them shook every time they made contact with the walls, they just might take this one down.

Laura strapped her shield back to her arm and grabbed one of the electric taser discs out of her belt. Carmilla had slipped it to her before they’d left LaFontaine’s - a non-lethal way to take down enemies that Laura had appreciated at the time.

Right now, she appreciated it even more.

Okay, so this idea was crazy. Like, super, super crazy. But...

Once she pressed the button there was a three second delay before shot out 50,000 volts. Three seconds was enough. Right?

Laura took in and let out a breath.

She started to run towards the massive brawlers. Her thigh hurt with each step but she ignored it, pushing it as far as possible from her mind. She still had a job to do.

When she reached them, she remembered the session she’d spent with Carmilla being taught how to jump properly. She let everything else fall away, the room around her, the pain in her thigh, even the uniform she was wearing. The creature in front of her turned into a pile of wooden boxes in her mind’s eye.

She jumped.

Leaping through the air was exhilarating. Less exhilarating was her boots struggling to find purchase on the creature’s shoulders, and slipping down, only to catch on the piece of glass that had dug itself into its shoulder. It let out a yowl of frustration, one of its giant hands trying to reach for Laura, but she scrambled out of the way quickly, using the spines that protruded down its back to clamber over to its other shoulder.

Danny grabbed the creature into a bear hug, and Laura made eye contact with her quickly. With the Sergeant holding on, the creature couldn’t get its hands up to its shoulders, and it was stopping it from jostling around as much. Laura quickly flashed her a grateful smile before setting to work.

From here, she could see the blinking light better, it was in a clearly fresh wound that had been drilled into its skin, the flesh still looked raw and healing around it, and it was oozing some sort of yellowy fluid. Laura sent a quick prayer to the sky, activated the taser disc, and jammed it as deep as she could into the hole with the light. Then, just as the creature pulled free from the Sergeant’s grip and swiped at her, she leapt off its shoulder, flipping backwards in the air and landing firmly on both feet, sending a fresh wave of pain through her thigh.

She let loose a relieved breath, she’d only managed to nail that move once in practice and she really didn’t want to land on her ass right now. But she couldn’t bask in the moment too long, her shoving something into its wound had angered the creature, and it lumbered towards her. She sprinted, but for each five of her steps it only had to take one and even with her speed it was gaining.

It reached for her, but before its fingers could grasp at her, the Sergeant tackled it from behind and sent it crashing to the floor right next to Laura.

And then, _boom_ \- the compound was plunged into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	28. Chapter 28

“Dad? Dad?”

A bolt of lightning lit up the second floor hallway of the house, paired with a clap of thunder so loud that the six-year-old Laura Hollis felt it in her heart. A few extra crackles sounded off, and Laura clutched her well-worn toy dog, aptly named Puppy, tighter to her chest.

 _Calm down, Laura_ , she told herself sternly, _brave people don’t get frightened by the dark. Or by weather._

At the end of the hallway, the master bedroom door opened and another flash of lightning revealed the silhouette of her father. The sharp crack of thunder made Laura jump, and she ran the rest of the hallway, into her father’s arms. She’d been woken by the thunder, and when she’d tried to turn on her bedside lamp to comfort herself it hadn’t turned on. Neither had her overhead light.

Her father wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face into his chest, taking comfort in the pure _dad_ -ness of him.

Half an hour later she was settled into his bed, a collection of pillows and blankets surrounding them with Puppy carefully positioned in between them, his head propped up so that he could see the shadows that her dad was dancing across the far wall using the flashlight and his hands.

“Why does the electricity go out when there’s lightning?”

“Well...” He stopped making shadows for a moment, so he could focus on explaining this to Laura, but she nudged his hands and he chuckled, and went back to making a dog howl on the wall in front of them. “Usually it’s because the lightning strikes a branch and that falls on the electrical lines and they have to get someone out to fix it.”

“What if the lightning hits the lines? Does it blow up?” Laura mimed an explosion with her hands and her father beamed at her as he made a bunny hop across the wall.

“There’s a protective earth wire that lets all the excess electricity run off.”

“Oka- _ay_ ,” Laura drew the word out as she tried to think of a question that would reap the answer she wanted. “But, like, what if they didn’t?”

“If they didn’t...” Her dad’s hands turned into a bird, flying up the wall in a lazy zigzag. “Then there would be excessive current in the circuit, so it would overload the system and make the electricity go out. But only for a little while. There’s a breaker, which resets it.”

“So it just goes out and turns back on?”

The bird turned into an elephant, lifting its trunk to the sky. “Exactly.”

“What about the stuff that’s not connected to the circuit?”

Laura’s dad smiled patiently. “Like this flashlight?”

“Yeah.”

“Well if it has its own power source it should be okay,” he explained, but there was something in his tone, and Laura knew there was more to it. He had a tendency to over explain things, and she had a tendency to ask him to, even when she barely understood what he was saying.

“Orrrr?” she asked, rolling the ‘r’ around in her mouth as she grinned at him expectantly.

“ _Some_ times, it can create an electromagnetic pulse - we call that an EMP -,” he explained, and she nodded attentively, although she had never heard the term before, “which knocks out nearby systems too.”

Satisfied that he had told her everything on the subject, she returned her attention to the shadow crocodile that was now snapping its way across the wall. “Weird.”

Laura’s dad chuckled and he agreed, “Super weird.”

\---

The sound of Laura’s breathing multiplied tenfold in her ears, as she tried to look around her but was only greeted by pitch black. It was weird being thrust into this much darkness and trying to move around to see things, it felt dizzying to have no visual point of reference to anchor herself to.

What had happened?

The taser disc had some power behind it, but nowhere near enough to take out the electricity. The Sergeant tackling the creature hadn’t been anywhere near an electrical box. The-

The red blinking light. She had been right, it was a control. And somehow by sending a pulse through it, she had also taken out the electricity in the process.

 _Oops_.

\---

Carmilla frowned and tapped the faceplate of LaFontaine’s suit. As the lights had gone out, so had the eye and chest lights of the suit, and they’d stopped moving. Carmilla peered at them through her night vision goggles and knocked on their shoulder, the sound echoing through their metal suit.

“Hey, Tin Can, boot up.”

The eyes and chest plate flickered to life, and Carmilla took a step back as she pulled off the night vision goggles, unsure if the light had been triggered by what she’d said or if it had been a coincidence.

“LaFontaine?”

LaFontaine groaned softly. “I knew I should have installed stronger EMP protection.”

The lights around them were still off, but with LaFontaine’s eyes and chest lit up there was plenty of illumination in the stairwell.

“That was an EMP?”

“Best guess,” they replied. “It must have knocked out all the electrical equipment in the compound. I scanned for EMP weapons before we got here though, I don’t know where-”

“The others.” Carmilla took up the stairs, leaving the comfort of the scientist’s lighting, but they were quick to follow her, using their rockets to take off up the stairs rather than climb them.

“Your arc reactor stopped,” Carmilla said bluntly as she took the stairs three at a time.

LaFontaine faltered. “You know about my...?”

“Obviously,” Carmilla scoffed. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” LaF replied, trying to move on from their surprise. “I can last a few seconds without it.”

“Good.”

Carmilla reached the door and burst through it with an impatience that left LaFontaine flattered that she’d taken the time to ask if they were alright.

Unsurprisingly, the room was thick with the same darkness as the stairwell. The glow from LaFontaine’s suit cut through it easily, and from a few metres away Laura’s voice drifted through the air unsurely, “LaFontaine?”

LaF barely had time to react before Carmilla went to Laura. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I may have done this.”

“You-”

The lights flickered back on, to reveal the state of the room, with the shattered glass tube, and the creature that was lying down still in the grip of the Sergeant, except now it was weirdly calm. It blinked unsurely in the lights, looking more confused than threatening.

“The Black Lagoon is out of the tube.” LaFontaine asked. “Laura? Why is the Black Lagoon out of the tube?”

Before Laura could reply, the creature let out a huge yowl, its hand going to the back of its neck as its body seized so violently that Danny was thrown from it. She hit the wall and slid down it, the green fading from her and her body shrinking as she hit the floor.

The rest of them would have gone to the Sergeant, if not for the creature who had now gotten to its feet and was making loud, howling sounds full of pain as it scrabbled to try and reach the back of its neck. It fell to its knees as its body seized again, and its fists pounded the floor, sending long, jagged cracks through the floor all the way to the wall, where they snaked up with terrifying speed and caused a very distinct _shift_ in the roof.

Laura had no idea why the creature was reacting like this, but given the accidental electrical overload she’d caused, she guessed that the electronics in its neck were glitching. And, from the sounds it was making, the glitches were extremely painful.

LaFontaine stepped in next to Laura and Carmilla, who watched as the roof threatened to cave in. “We have a problem.”

“No shit,” Carmilla said, her voice rough with a combination of sarcasm and fear.

“Not that,” they replied. “The shock, it must have overrun the programming on the nanobots. I can’t reprogram them from here. If the compound comes down-”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Carmilla swore bitterly. Her eyes flicked from the creature, which was repeatedly slamming his back against the wall and sending down thick sprays of cement and dirt. She checked her watch and swore again to herself. “My wireless was knocked out. We have to manually program them.”

“I’ll go down.”

“No, you’re the only one who can get that thing,” Carmilla spat bitterly, gesturing at the creature, “out of here, and have a shot at taking it down.” Carmilla grabbed LaF by the arm and brought out one of the wires from her watch, plugging it into one of the ports. “Transfer it over to me, I’ll go down myself.”

“Carm-” Laura started.

“This will take a few minutes, keep the abomination busy, can you?” Carmilla cut Laura off, her voice tight with stress and Laura nodded, knowing this wasn’t the time to object.

As she started towards the creature tearing down the walls she heard LaF say, “Abomination’s a bit strong isn’t it?”

“And ‘Black Lagoon’ is...” Carmilla’s retort faded from Laura’s attention as she stared up at the ten-foot tall green scaly creature that seemed to be trying to rip the foreign objects out of its neck even if it took down the compound with it.

So, step one: make it stop taking chunks out of the walls.

“Hey!” Laura shouted at the creature. It continued to stumble about, arms flinging around it destructively, taking out one of the column supports next to the wall.

“ _Hey!_ ” Laura shouted again, taking her gun out of the holster and shooting at the creature several times. While it didn’t do anything to injure it, the sound of the gun going off did attract its attention as it turned to the tiny human making lots of noise. Satisfied that she’d gotten its attention, she yelled, “Yeah, that’s right! Remember me?”

Its face pulled in pain again, and then something close to recognition crossed its expression - whether it was actually recognition, or if Laura was projecting, she wasn’t sure.

Okay, step one done.

Step two: don’t get caught.

The creature lumbered towards her, arms reaching for her, mouth pulled into a furious snarl, and she quickly turned and started to run.

She felt the tips of its fingers brush against her back as she dropped down into a roll, turning on an angle so that she could spin around and throw the shield directly into its face. It hit the creature square on the brow causing its head to reel back and stop in place, disoriented for a moment. It regathered itself and let loose a growl, snatching for her again, but she leapt out of the way, using its hand as a jumping off point. Her back hit the ground hard - okay, so she definitely needed more practice with that - and its fist was about to close down on her when a loud shot rang out through the room, and the creature was hit in the cheek with a rifle bullet. It snapped at the air, before turning to glare at the Sergeant, who had returned to her normal state and had a rifle aimed squarely at the creature.

Danny’s face shifted away from the gun enough so that her taunting expression was clear. “Come on, big guy.”

It turned to Danny and started towards her, and Laura stood again, taking a steadying breath before throwing the shield towards the back of its knee at just the right time so that its leg crumpled, and it fell to the ground.

The force of it falling reverberated through the ground, causing the cracks to deepen and the roof to protest as it sagged down into a V, the metal ceiling bracket of the tube falling to the ground and sending another shock through the building.

The creature didn’t seem to notice, it just got to its feet, grasping for the Sergeant, who didn’t have Laura’s speed, so it gained on her easily. Laura threw her shield again, hitting it on the bicep but that didn’t distract it from trying to reach Danny. Another seizure through its body left it stumbling to the side, taking out another cement support, and causing the roof to crack further and let through a _pile_ of dirt, which filled the area that the tube had once been.

Laura could sense Carmilla’s reaction from the other side of the room, and she leapt through the dirt pouring into the room to get to her, dodging the chunks of hard earth and shoving her way through until she landed in front of the scientist and agent. Just as her boots hit the floor, LaFontaine took off and fired several rockets at the creature, stopping it from reaching Danny. It blinked, flinching away from the explosions, before it lurched in the opposite direction, towards the exit of the compound. It was too tall for the hallway beyond, but it barrelled through nevertheless, and the dirt pouring in through the ceiling became thicker.

Laura turned back to Carmilla, but she was already running down the stairs to where the serum was.

“Carm, wait!” Laura took off after her, her feet pounding on the steps as she chased the agent. Behind her, Danny followed.

“Laura,” Carmilla’s voice came over the radio, which was finally working again, “you have to get out of here, the building’s coming down.” Carmilla’s voice was far too calm, and it set Laura’s teeth on edge.

“I’m not leaving here without you!”

“Neither of us are,” Danny agreed with her, giving Laura the confidence to keep chasing after the agent.

“Sergeant, take her out of here. That’s an order.”

“With all due respect, Agent, you can take your orders and shove them up your _ass_.”

Carmilla made a sound stuck between amusement and frustration. “Fine,” she finally agreed, “I should have enough time to-” Carmilla stopped speaking suddenly, her voice replaced with the sound of static, and then, in a voice that sounded completely unlike her, she uttered, “You.”

Laura reached the basement door - an old, riveted metal door with a circular port hole window at head height - just in time to see the Mistress standing there with a gun pointed directly at Carmilla.

During all the action upstairs, the Mistress had slipped her mind, and now that knowledge came roaring back with the power of a freight train. They were talking, but Laura could only hear Carmilla’s side of the conversation through the radio, the door too thick to let any sound through.

“What happened to guns being impersonal?”

Laura jammed the control for the door, but it didn’t open. She started pressing the buttons on the keypad at random, desperate to get the door open. The keypad just flashed red and beeped at her.

She was about to punch it when Danny reached her. “What’s wrong?”

“This stupid- we have to-”

Danny glanced inside the room and then quickly shuffled Laura aside, crouching down and taking the cover off the keypad. There was a mess of wires on the inside of it and Danny pulled the combat knife out of Laura’s belt, using it to cut two of the wires and peeling back the plastic.

“How do you-?” Laura started to ask, but then Danny connected the wires, making the door open, and Laura lost her train of thought. She charged into the room, gun drawn and aimed squarely at the Mistress’ back.

“Put it down,” Laura said in a low and dangerous voice.

The Mistress slowly turned her face towards Laura, her gun not moving from Carmilla, and her lips gradually curled into a predatory smile. “Oh, this is delicious.”

Laura’s hands were steady as she took another step forward. “Put. It. Down.”

“You aren’t going to shoot-”

Laura shot her in the kneecap, the sound of the gunshot sharp in the air. The Mistress let out a quiet grunt as she fell to one knee. The gun she was holding continued to stay locked on Carmilla, adjusting for the fall.

“That was for the knife you put in my leg. The next one goes in your heart.”

The Mistress laughed, and it came out as a watery chuckle through the pain of the gunshot wound. “You’ve never killed anyone. I read your file. I watched you. You don’t have it in you.”

Laura’s eyes flashed. “Don’t test me.”

“That’s rich,” the Mistress spoke through wheezed laughter. “You’re in love with her.” A cruel smile spread over her lips, pulling her mouth wide open and ugly across her face. “Some advice, Miss Hollis - stone cannot love flesh.”

“She’s not who you think she is, she’s not-”

“I created her,” the Mistress’ voice thundered, her pain turned to fury as she glowered at Laura. “You think you know her, but you have no clue.” Her teeth gnashed as she sucked in a breath. “I created her, and I can destroy her.” She clicked the safety of the gun off.

A shot rang out through the room.

The Mistress fell to the ground, her eyes open and glassy as the gun fell from her hand, clattering against the glass.

The room was perfectly still; even the air seemed to freeze around them, to capture this moment as a landmark for the rest of their lives.

Danny stepped out from behind Laura, lowering the gun she’d just fired. Laura slowly let her arm fall back to her side, gun unused, unable to take her eyes off the body of the woman she had come so close to killing. Half a second later and...

Danny moved in front of Laura, her eyes firmly fixed to Carmilla and avoiding the Mistress’ body. “We have to go. Now.”

“No.” Carmilla shook her head absently. “No, I have to...” She seemed to return to herself, shaking her head more firmly. “I have to program the nanobots.” She immediately set to work, running to the console, pulling a wire from her watch, and hooking it up to the console system.

Danny turned to Laura, who was staring at the pool of blood slowly growing around the Mistress. “Laura? Laura, we need to leave okay?”

“I...”

Danny waited for Laura to continue, to say something, and when she didn’t, Danny grabbed her by the arms and shook her gently. “ _Laura_.”

“I don’t....”

“Captain.”

Laura’s eyes finally lifted to Danny’s, and something left them, shifting into the background as determination slid forward. “We’re not leaving until Carmilla leaves.”

“Laura, you need to go,” Carmilla insisted.

“So do you,” Laura fired back.

Carmilla took the watch off her wrist, leaving it at the console and she quickly crossed the room to the other two, past the Mistress, without even glancing at her. Danny stepped aside, going back over to the entrance, caught between her own screaming need to leave, and her duty to the two.

“Laura, please,” Carmilla begged, trying to cover her emotion with a forceful tone, but it broke halfway through and made her eyebrows knot together, her jaw clenching. It was this moment that broke through Laura, broke through the numbness, and the stubbornness, and made her words echo in her head

_If we survive. If we survive. If we survive._

(God _why_ had she said that?)

The walls around them shook, the tremors had reached the basement with a roaring force, and it sent rocks falling from the ceiling. Below them, the serum shook in the vat, threatening to spill free.

“No, no, please, please don’t do this,” Laura’s voice trembled with tears as she grasped at Carmilla’s arms. “Please don’t. We deserve- we have- we were-”

Carmilla’s thumbs traced a path from Laura’s cheekbones down to her jaw and the tenderness of the action left Laura speechless as she stared up into the agent’s eyes.

“I have to stay here,” Carmilla said, a breath of a tremble in her voice, “I have to make sure the nanobots work, otherwise people will die.”

Laura shook her head, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. “I-I don’t want you to be a hero if it means that I _lose_ you.”

“What’s the point of being a hero only when it’s easy?” Carmilla asked gently.

“Please, Carm, please.”

Carmilla’s eyes were desperate as they took in Laura’s face. “Laura, I need you to let me... All my life, I... I need to do this. I need to wipe the red from my ledger and if you ask me to leave, then I-” Her eyes shone in the dim lighting, and Laura pulled her close, whispering words and emotions into her skin. Laura could smell the tears, could taste them in her throat, and she pulled back enough to look Carmilla in the eye.

Laura’s breath caught in her throat suddenly, it felt like every ounce of oxygen was pushed out of her body as she stared at this agent, this girl, this _almost_. Their faces were inches from each other and, even with the roof starting to cave in around them, she found herself unable to focus on anything except Carmilla’s eyes and her lips, and _God_ -

Carmilla kissed her.

Carmilla kissed her and she wanted to cry, and she wanted to kiss her back, and she wanted to slap her, and she wanted to pull her so close that they felt more like one person than two, and she wanted-

She kissed her back. She kissed her, and filled it with everything that she couldn’t say out loud - of feelings, and trust, and fear, and thoughts that she hadn’t even been able to form yet.

The taste of fresh tears hit Laura’s tongue and it felt like her heart was too painfully large for her ribs. They moved as one, feeding breaths and sobs into each other’s mouths. It felt like bleeding, but not bleeding blood - bleeding feeling, bleeding hopes, bleeding the promise of what could have been.

Then, Carmilla was pushing her, back and away, and Laura’s head spun with the loss of Carmilla’s lips against hers. Carmilla’s eyes were guarded, and Laura’s heart sunk before she’d even realised Carmilla had pushed her past the doorway, into the stairway.

Carmilla hit the control button, closing the door between them. Through the grimy window, her eyes didn’t leave Laura’s, even as she sent a jolt of electricity through the control, frying the fuse and sealing the door.

Laura realised that Danny was trying to pull her away, and that the world around them was still falling apart. She fought against her, and she was half-aware that she was screaming, but with all the strength she had, she couldn’t seem to find the ability to break the Sergeant’s steel grip as she lifted her off the ground and pulled her away.

Carmilla’s gaze didn’t waver until after Laura disappeared from view.

Numbly, she went back over to the console to program the nanobots. She looked down at the body of her old Mistress, but the sight didn’t inspire any emotion in her. Instead, she continued to work, and when she finished, she pressed the tips of her pointer and middle finger to her lips as the room around her fell to ruin.

Danny carried Laura out of the compound, through the almost entirely destroyed room, through the hallway, and once they hit fresh air she finally let her go. Laura immediately scrambled to run back in, but there was a deep rumble, louder than all the rest, and the mountain collapsed in on itself.

Laura fell to her knees, not only because the ground beneath them was shaking, but because it felt like everything inside her had just been ripped out through her mouth. Her hands fell into the dirt and she howled to the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), and I'll be tagging any story related stuff with #carmilla cap au


	29. Chapter 29

The sun started to peer over the horizon, sending rays of sun streaming through the gaps between the mountains, lighting up the land with columns of glowing gold. The morning dew shone in the light, picking out the rainbow colours from the sunlight and sending them dancing through the grass.

A clod of dirt flew through the air, crushing a tuft of grass underneath it.

Above, in the still thick morning mist, Danny dug through the collapsed remnants of the mountain, her massive green hands making quick work of the dirt and rubble. Each handful was coupled with a huffed grunt. She had been digging for a long time, although instead of fatigue, annoyance threaded its way through her muscles and fuelled her more.

“Oh, oh, oh!”

From behind her, Perry stuck her hand straight up in the air, and then fumbled with her equipment so she could hold up the air horn and sound it loudly.

Danny stopped digging, and turned to look at Perry over her shoulder. Perry gave her a weak smile and juggled everything she was holding to reach the shovel, using the equipment to find what they were looking for, just under the dirt layer.

The Sergeant walked away, heading back up to the lip of the crater that she’d dug and staring at the sunrise. Her eyesight was poorer like this, it had more to do with movement than colour, and she could barely see the pinks, oranges, and blues across the sky, but she held her gaze there as she let herself slip back into her body.

She reopened her eyes, unaware of when she’d closed them, and the multi-coloured sunrise hues greeted her, the rays hitting her bare skin and warming her despite her tattered clothing.

She turned back down to the crater and re-joined Perry.

\---

“... So that’s it. The whole story.” Laura sighed, she felt silly talking to a laptop camera, but there was something comforting about the little green light, and being able to say everything out loud without worrying about holding back her emotions. She hadn’t done something like this since her college journalism assignment, which had been an embarrassing attempt at an exposé on the cafeteria food that had failed spectacularly. But this time was different.

“It’s been...” She let her head drop down, biting her bottom lip as a shuddering breath dropped from her mouth. All the tears were long gone from her system, but the echo of them continued to falter her breathing. “I miss you, Dad. I keep thinking about you, about what you’d say and what you’d do and...” She sighed and shrugged self-consciously to the camera. “I know what you’d do. You’d be proud of me. You’d give me a hug and tell me you loved me and then you’d make some pun that would make me laugh only because _you_ were laughing so hard.”

She fell silent for a long moment.

“I still don’t know why you picked me. Or... I don’t know how you knew to pick me, I guess? How you knew that I’d actually be...” Laura frowned as she tried to find the right words. “I didn’t know you had so much faith in me,” Laura finally said and she stared at the camera as if looking her father dead in the eye. “You spent your whole life telling me how proud of me you were, but I never felt it until now.

“And now...” Laura sighed, her eyes dropping down to her lap. “I don’t even know if you liked her. I mean, I know she’s arrogant, and closed off, and kind of mean sometimes,” Laura hesitated, her eyes flicking back to the camera as she said in a small voice, “but she liked you.”

There was a knock on the bedroom door. LaFontaine had given Laura a room at their house, a definite upgrade from the makeshift hospital area in their workshop. Laura gave the camera an apologetic grimace, pausing the recording as she said, “Come in.”

“Hey, Laura.” Perry came into the room tentatively, picking at her fingers and looking somewhat more frazzled than usual.  Her eyes were full of concern as they ran over the black bags under Laura’s eyes, the messy state of the room, and the greasy hair that Laura had pulled into a haphazard ponytail. “How are you?”

“How is she?” Laura asked, and the dodging of the question didn’t go unnoticed by Perry.

Instead of commenting on it, Perry nodded and walked further into the room.

They’d found Carmilla a week ago under the rubble, and after several intensive surgeries - a few which had to be put off until she’d stabilised - everything physical had been fixed and they were just waiting for her to wake up.

It had been a torturous wait.

“LaFontaine said that there’s something they need to talk to you about.”

Laura nodded slowly and closed the laptop in front of her, avoiding looking at her exhausted face on the screen. She stood and followed Perry along the length of the hallway that she was now intimately familiar with. LaFontaine had banned her from staying in Carmilla’s room overnight, saying she needed to try and get some rest, but it had just resulted in her sneaking into Carmilla’s room and sleeping in the corner chair until sunrise.

Perry opened the door, and the sound of medical equipment and the steady rise and fall of the respirator greeted Laura, just as it did every time. And there she was - hooked up to the wide spread of machines, her face looking paler, smaller, younger than Laura had ever seen it -, Carmilla.

LaFontaine was standing next to the bed, their face haggard as they flicked through her chart. It had been ironic that they had banned her from Carmilla’s room, when they had to be dragged from it by Perry most of the time. They had developed dark circles so large and black that they hollowed the area from the bridge of their nose all the way to their cheekbones.

“LaF.”

Perry left the room, closing the door behind her, and the uneasy feeling in Laura’s stomach grew as LaFontaine looked up at her.

“Hey, L. I’m sorry, I-” They trailed off, frowning, what they were going to say had slipped their mind as they stared at her blankly.

Laura stepped forward. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s not-” Their voice gave out and they had to clear their throat before finishing quietly, “She’s not improving.”

Laura let out a slow breath.

Then she started to roll up her sleeve, folding up the cuff of her shirt to her bicep, and leaving the inside of her elbow bare. She held her arm forward. “Do it.”

LaFontaine’s face twisted, conflict tugging their eyebrows together and forming their mouth into a thin line.

“You don’t know what this will do.”

Laura pulled the chair over from the corner, sitting in it and propping her arm up on the foot of the bed. “We did it your way. Now we do it my way.”

\---

Laura jerked awake, the muscles in her neck crying at the unnatural sleeping position. She’d passed out crammed into the chair with her head propped up on one hand, and the other holding Carmilla’s hand. Laura rubbed her eyes as she stared at the hand that was still linked with Carmilla’s - had she been dreaming?

She watched Carmilla’s hand, the buzz of sleep fading to a bewildered, manic focus.

Laura’s eyes leapt to Carmilla’s face, and a gentle groan trailed out of the agent’s mouth, followed by a frown line appearing between her eyebrows. Then, a deep, hacking gag at the tube that was in her throat, and Laura quickly pulled it free without letting go of Carmilla’s hand.

Carmilla gagged again as the tube left her throat, until it finally emerged and she coughed, her body turning and curling into itself as she tried to take back control of her throat muscles.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and made a soft croak of a pained grunt. Laura immediately grabbed one of the cups of water from the side table and held the straw up to Carmilla.

Carmilla peered up at Laura over the cup, and Laura couldn’t help the long, thick exhale that rushed out of her all at once at being able to see those eyes again.

“Hey,” she said, and it sounded more like a breath than a word.

The left corner of Carmilla’s lip twitched up slightly. “Hey.”

\---

Carmilla watched the sunlight dance through her fingers as she twirled them between her face and the sky above. Her right hand was squeezing a rubber ball; carefully flexing the muscles to recover the control she’d lost and help the nerves heal. She’d had surgery to graft nerves from the inside of her left upper arm, and the irony of losing feeling from one part of her arm for the other wasn’t lost on her.

Sensation would return eventually, but that was the least of her concerns.

Her recovery had been ‘miraculous’ - that was the word LaFontaine used as they stared at her with that off look. She’d seen the band-aid in the crook of Laura’s elbow, and the empty unmarked blood bag in the wastebasket.

Blood bags didn’t come unmarked, not if they were taken in any official capacity. It was poor practice, and no medical staff, regardless of the situation, would do it. Blood type, expiration date, identification - these were all crucial details, and any blood that had been donated and screened had this information on it.

Unless it had been a direct donation.

They hadn’t told her yet, even though they were running her through a never-ending battery of tests, and it surprised Carmilla how much that bothered her.

“Hey.”

Laura sat down on the deck chair next to Carmilla. She was lying down in front of LaFontaine’s infinity pool, having just finished a session of physical rehabilitation in the water. Carmilla still hadn’t quite untangled her feelings at Laura not telling her about the transfusion; on one hand she understood, but on the other hand, it twisted something uncomfortably inside her.

“Hey,” Carmilla replied.

Laura lay down on the deck chair for a second before suddenly sitting back up, facing Carmilla. Carmilla raised an eyebrow at her.

“I need to tell you something, and I haven’t told you because you’ve been recovering and LaFontaine thinks we should let you focus on that, and, I mean, they’re the medical person so I was like ‘okay, LaFontaine’, but I can’t not tell you. I mean, it’s important, you know?”

Carmilla softened, and it felt like relaxing into something.

Which was the exact opposite of how Laura felt, as her leg bounced up and down at a ridiculous rate.

“You gave me a blood transfusion,” Carmilla said, finally letting go of the sentence that had been filling her head ever since she’d put the pieces together.

Laura stared at her openly. “How did you-?”

Carmilla shouldn’t have found her surprise so endearing.

Laura’s surprise turned to warmth, so strong in her eyes that Carmilla couldn’t help but drop her gaze for a second. If Laura noticed the shying away she didn’t comment, just said, “Of course you knew.”

Carmilla felt the sarcastic response die on her tongue at the affection in Laura’s tone.

“You weren’t recovering,” Laura explained, “it was the best option.”

Carmilla nodded slowly. She gripped the rubber ball in her hand, each squeeze firm and careful. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t-”

“Not for that.” Carmilla pulled a face and corrected herself, “For that too. But for making the call.”

“There was a risk.”

“There always is,” Carmilla said, her voice unwavering. Laura still looked unsure so Carmilla gently bumped the hand holding the rubber ball against Laura’s knee. “So am I going to turn into a superhero now?”

“LaF said that if you did experience any super-ness it’d probably be out of your system in four months because your blood would...” Laura trailed off and her eyebrows pulled into a suspicious frown. “You totally already know the answer, don’t you?”

Carmilla shrugged and admitted, “I’d guessed.”

Laura looked unimpressed for a moment but her curiosity won out. “ _Do_ you feel any different?”

“A little.” Carmilla squeezed the ball, fingers curling into the rubber, and edging along the feeling of odd not-quite painful numbness.

“They didn’t let me give you much. We didn’t know if it’d...” Laura coughed uncomfortably.

“If it’d kill me,” Carmilla finished for her.

Laura nodded and then murmured, “I’m glad you’re not dead.”

Carmilla regarded Laura, slowly letting herself take in the image of the civilian turned super soldier. Her hair that shone gold in the sun and reminded Carmilla of many beautiful, far away things. Her eyes, which could go from haunted to sunny and back again, as if the other hadn’t existed. And her mouth...

“Me too.”

Laura stared at her, as if she still couldn’t believe that she was in front of her, until she realised she was staring and a light dusting of pink appeared along her cheekbones.

Carmilla was about to say something, to lightly tease the girl, because the blush was all shades of adorable, when Laura caught her off guard by saying, “For the record, you might not be a super, but you’re definitely a hero.”

Carmilla’s breath caught in her throat, and the word echoed in her head.

 _Hero_.

Carmilla remembered watching Disney movies at the Red Room, reciting the lines along with the characters on the screen to emulate the accent and body language. The way the word – _hero­_ – would fall from the teacher’s lips, like a curse word.

Carmilla remembered glaring at the Prince, the _hero_ , and thinking he was the most boring character in the whole movie so who wanted to be him anyway?

The word had changed for her since then, to something a lot larger, but also quieter. It lived in the moments that no one spoke of; the fear that came before a fight, the way a person’s hands shook as they stood against something, the tears that were shed when people were lost. She found it in Kirsch’s easy smile, in Q’s unflagging curiosity, in Tin Can’s resolute adaptability, in Red’s high-strung nerves, hell she even found it in the Sergeant’s idiotic loyalty.

But most of all, she found it in Laura.

“Thank you,” Carmilla finally replied, with a throat that felt full of gravel.

It had never felt true before, but right now, with the way that Laura was looking at her, it felt like the truest thing in the world.

Laura’s face lit up beautifully, and Carmilla could feel the reflection of the emotion bloom in the centre of her chest, paired with a tightening that made it feel like her ribs were bursting in the most beautiful way.

“We...” Laura glanced down at her hands, and Carmilla followed her gaze to where she was nervously picking at her nails. Embarrassed, Laura tucked her hands under her legs, trapping them between the deck chair and her thighs, and Carmilla’s attention rose back to see Laura worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Laura smiled self consciously, with a short, breathy laugh. “We never got to talk. I mean, we- we kissed, and that was like...” Laura nodded her head slowly, a dreamy smile drifting across her features. “Like, _really_ good.”

Carmilla’s lips moved on their own accord, echoing Laura’s smile.

“Like, end of the world, we’re all going to die, good.” Laura winced at her choice of words. “But we didn’t die.”

“We survived,” Carmilla stated.

“We survived,” Laura repeated, and there was a lot more meaning to the words than just their definition.

Carmilla sat up, her knees pressing against Laura’s as they faced each other. Laura’s breath hitched visibly, and Carmilla’s heart skipped a beat.

“So now...”

“We talk,” Laura finished for her.

“Right.”

They sat there in silence, staring at each other for a long moment, until they both collapsed into unsure smiles. Laura covered her mouth, but a chuckle still slipped loose from between her fingers.

“This is weird, right?” Laura asked and Carmilla nodded, but right now she had a feeling she’d agree to anything Laura said. “Why is it so weird?”

“The lack of impending doom does give it a different feel,” Carmilla commented dryly. It was meant to defuse some of the tension, but all it did was make Laura beam at her fondly and Carmilla’s throat felt like it was going to close up from how strongly she felt about this girl.

“Should I start?”

“Can I?” Carmilla asked, even though her body was screaming for her not to. She had braved all manner of life threatening situations, but this felt like the most dangerous of all, and she wanted to do this for Laura.

Laura nodded, with eyes so wide that Carmilla wondered if she could read her mind.

“I...” She swallowed hard and forced herself to not think the words through before saying them, because that would only leave her silent and cringing. “I’ve met a lot of people in my life, Laura Hollis, but none of them have ever been like you.”

“Oh,” Laura let out a light sigh, as if she was on the edge of swooning. Then, her expression fell to disappointment and Carmilla frowned. ( _Shit_ , she had said the wrong thing.)

“I should have gone first,” Laura finally said, her expression drooping into a crestfallen frown.

Okay, Carmilla hadn’t been expecting _that_.

“What?”

“I totally should have gone first.” Laura’s shoulders sagged. “I mean, you said this really beautiful and concise thing, and I was just going to sort of say that I, you know, feelings, and how you’re really pretty, but that’s not important, and you’re really generous and kind, but not in a way that people see, and how we’re really good at fighting together, and it makes me...” She shook her head and muttered, “That’s not important,” before refocusing. “And how I feel...” She sighed despairingly. “Feelings.”

By now, Carmilla’s frown had dissolved into a gentle smile. She dropped the exercise ball, and took Laura’s hands out from under her thighs to cradle them in hers. “I feel feelings too.”

Relief swept over Laura’s face, and Carmilla wondered if Laura had missed all the blatantly obvious signs she’d given her.

“I know there’s probably a whole lot more to talk about,” Laura said, the words pouring out in one breath, “but I... honestly, I just really want to kiss you right now.”

Laura barely had time to suck in a much-needed breath before Carmilla leaned forward and kissed her.

It was nothing like their first kiss.

Their first kiss had been explosions and anguish and passion and fire, like a natural disaster tearing them apart while pushing them together. It had been desperate, and wanton, and scorching in its pace.

This was slow, patient, languid - like the waves moving to greet the shore. Carmilla’s thumb gently traced the line of Laura’s hair, from behind her ear to the nape of her neck, her fingers tangling through gently and edging her closer so subtly that Laura didn’t realise, until she was completely and totally surrounded by her.

Laura drank in the scent that she’d come to associate with the agent, intermingled with the tang of chlorine; the feel of her lips, so soft that it crumbled something inside her, and rebuilt it a fraction of a second later; the sensation of Carmilla’s shuddering breaths against her mouth; the hitched gasp when Laura ghosted her tongue across her bottom lip.

Laura melted into her - into the woman who had saved her, and who she had saved, and who had saved them all - and she felt Carmilla melt into her in return.

Before, it had felt like they had run out of time before they’d even gotten any. Now, it felt like they had all the time in the world.

And, they did.

\---

LaFontaine watched Carmilla and Laura walk down the steps from their front door dubiously. “I still think you should stay, so I can monitor you for a while longer.”

“And I think that you should stick your stethoscope up your ass,” Carmilla replied as she threw her bag into the open trunk of the Porsche convertible LaFontaine had lent them. “I’ve never taken a vacation day, and I’m cashing them all in to go lie on a beach far, _far_ away from you and your machines.”

Laura put a reassuring hand on LaF’s arm. “If anything happens, I will call you straight away.”

“You better,” LaFontaine grumbled.

The sun gleamed off the Porsche, winking at them as Carmilla got into the driver seat. “Don’t worry so much, you’ll turn into Red.”

Next to LaFontaine, Perry pulled a face but didn’t reply, instead exchanging a warm hug with Laura and slipping her some brownies.

LaFontaine still looked concerned, and Laura pulled them into a tight hug, giving them a firm squeeze to try and relieve some of the stress from their mind.

“Be safe, okay?” LaFontaine said as they separated.

Laura’s hand went to the magnifying glass pendant that her father had given her, and a gentle, nostalgic smile crossed her face. “You too.”

She got into the car next to Carmilla, who dropped a hand onto Laura’s bare leg with a familiarity that made Laura’s smile grow.

“You ready?” Carmilla asked.

Laura cast one last look back at the redheads standing on the steps, and then put her hand over Carmilla’s and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was officially the last chapter of this story! (After this there will be a short post-credits-scene type epilogue.)
> 
> I wanted to thank you all for reading, for leaving kudos, and commenting. This has truly been an awesome journey and one that I did not think would be this long. (I know I keep saying this, but it's true.)
> 
> I hope that you have all enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it, and thank you again for all your support.
> 
> My tumblr is [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com), if you wanna chill or emote at me about the show or whatevs.
> 
> Peace xx


	30. Epilogue

Laura took the motorcycle helmet off, running a hand through her hair and trying to shake out the helmet hair she had definitely gotten during the two-hour trip from the coast.

“What’d you think, cupcake?” Carmilla grinned as she hung her helmet on the handlebar and dismounted from the motorbike. She moved to standing smoothly, showing a grace and comfort that Laura definitely wasn’t feeling after spending so long riding on the back of the bike.

“I think I need to get a bike,” Laura replied gleefully as she passed Carmilla the helmet she’d borrowed.

Carmilla smirked as she packed it away under the seat, before pulling off her gloves and tucking them in beside the helmet. “But it’s so fun to have you pressed up against my back.”

Laura shoved her lightly on the shoulder as her cheeks bloomed red, and she responded, “Well that’s just an average Saturday night, isn’t it?”

Carmilla laughed freely as she combed a hand through her hair, and Laura couldn’t help but stare at the long waves as they cascaded down her shoulders. Even after all the time they’d spent together, Laura still spent half of it picking her jaw up off the floor.

They had parked on an empty tarmac in front of a huge, corrugated airplane hangar, with nothing but grass surrounding them. The wind had picked up, blowing gusts of sharp iciness and the odd leaf, despite there not being any visible trees. They’d been summoned here by the Director of S.I.L.A.S. a few days ago in a cryptic email that only offered the location, date and time.

Carmilla had been loath to cut their holiday short, and Laura was loath to lose the sight of Carmilla in a bikini, but she had insisted that they come anyway. It was partly out of obligation, and partly because she was incredibly curious about the Director that she still hadn’t seen or spoken to.

The front doors of the hangar were slightly open, enough so that they could walk in side by side, hands clasped between them. The inside of the hangar wasn’t lit, the only illumination streamed in from the high windows, casting diagonal columns of light down to the ground in front of them, and picking out spiralling specks of dust in the air.

The hangar was empty of any planes; in fact the only thing in the entire hangar was a dusty looking wooden table, which was so typical. Why not meet in a creepy abandoned airplane hangar? That seemed like the perfect location for the secretive Director.

“Karnstein. Captain.”

Laura turned to see a figure standing in the doorway. They stepped forward into the hangar, and the silhouette turned into Danny Lawrence. She was wearing a formal pantsuit, with a baby blue shirt, buttoned up to the second button from the top, and her auburn hair loose around her face; the complete opposite from the Sergeant that Laura had met at Fort Themyscira. Danny regarded them both warmly, any bluntness in her tone curbed by the smirk on her face.

“Danny!” Laura met her halfway, her excitement plain across her face as she embraced her. She hadn’t seen her since LaFontaine’s, although she still talked to her regularly via (largely redacted) emails.

“Good to see you, Laura,” Danny murmured, and Laura gave her an extra squeeze before letting go.

As they walked back over to Carmilla, she greeted Danny with a skewed smirk, “Agent Orange.”

Danny crossed her arms behind her back, and her shoulders fell into a hard line - a telltale sign of her military training. “It’s Agent Lawrence now.”

“Agent in training,” Carmilla corrected. Then, in a matter of fact voice, she stated, “The agent entry requirements have really dropped,” which made Laura elbow her in the side.

Danny rolled her eyes. “Still an asshole, then.”

“Apparently having a mountain cave in on you doesn’t change that.”

“Who knew,” Danny replied in a deadpan voice.

The sound of jet rockets came from the entrance, and they all turned as LaFontaine landed in the doorway. They stood there as the suit unlatched itself and fanned out on the floor around them with a series of mechanical hisses, buzzes and whirrs. LaFontaine stepped off the suit and the pieces slid together, fitting over each other and folding up into a suitcase, which they picked up casually before joining the rest of them.

They grinned, their pride at their entrance obvious in the pink flush of their cheeks. “Hey guys.”

“That was awesome!” Laura exclaimed breathlessly, pulling LaF into an eager hug.

Carmilla just shrugged and drawled, “I’ve seen better.”

Before anyone could counter the point, another silhouette appeared at the entrance and they all fell silent. It was the Director - Matska Belmonde.

“Good afternoon.” Her voice reached them easily, echoing faintly off the walls as it filled the vast space. Each syllable was laden with authority, and pronounced with a degree of regality. “Thank you all for coming.”

She stepped out of the doorway, her heels punctuating each step as she walked towards them, bringing her face into view. She looked impeccable in a dark dress with a cinched long black coat, and her hair was swept over one shoulder without a single strand out of place. She was stunningly elegant, features refined in a way that was almost other-worldly, and lips painted blood red. As she came closer, Laura saw the strength in her eyes, and there was no question why this relatively young person had risen to the position of Director.

The room was dead silent as she reached them, stopping with a final definitive step. They had all obviously been called here for a reason, but something in the way she was examining them felt like she was sizing them up, judging whether they were worthy.

Laura couldn’t help but stand up straighter.

“You must be wondering why I asked to meet.” Director Belmonde scanned the group, her eyes alight with a commanding intelligence. “I’m here talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.”

Next to Laura, Carmilla groaned quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that's it folks. Thanks for joining me on this crazy ride, and I hope you had as much fun as I did!
> 
> Follow me or drop me a line at my tumblr [churchofyourcurves](churchofyourcurves.tumblr.com) :)


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